Fleming v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety

At issue in this case was Ariz. Rev. Stat. 12-820.02(A)(7), under which public entities and employees enjoy qualified immunity from liability for an injury to a motor vehicle driver that is attributable to the driver’s violation of statutes prohibiting reckless driving and driving while under the influence. Faith Mascolino died after she was arrested for driving under the influence and placed in the rear seat of a Department of Public Safety (DPS) cruiser, which was struck by another motorist. Plaintiff, the conservator for Mascolino’s minor children, filed this wrongful death action against DPS. The trial court instructed the jury on section 12-820.02(A)(7)’s qualified immunity. The jury found the motorist seventy-five percent at fault, Mascolino twenty-five percent at fault, and assigned no fault to DPS. The court of appeals upheld the giving of the section 12-820.02(A)(7) instruction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) section 12-820.02(A)(7)’s qualified immunity applies only when the driver was injured while driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle; and (2) the statute was inapplicable in this case, as Mascolino was not a driver of the motor vehicle at the relevant time. View "Fleming v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety" on Justia Law