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Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government v. Smolcic8/26/2004
On April 28, 1998, Dora Jurdana, Marijana Meculj, and Vesna Vasicek were crossing, on foot, U.S. Route 27 at the intersection of Nicholasville Road and Moore Drive when they were struck by a vehicle driven by Cara Rodgers. U.S. Route 27 is part of the state highway system and is located in the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government ("LFUCG"). Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek subsequently filed separate suits against Rodgers, LFUCG, and others. The individual suits were eventually consolidated into a single action. Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek later amended their complaints to include four individual employees of LFUCG as additional defendants.
The trial court dismissed LFUCG for liability purposes on grounds that it was entitled to sovereign immunity, but allowed it to remain in the suit for purposes of apportionment under KRS 411.182. The trial court also dismissed the claims against the individual employees on grounds that they were entitled to qualified official immunity. Further, the trial court granted Rodgers' motion in limine to exclude her guilty plea to the charge of driving while intoxicated. Finally, Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek also filed separate suits in the Kentucky Board of Claims against LFUCG and the Transportation Cabinet. After the Board of Claims dismissed the cases against LFUCG for lack of jurisdiction, Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek appealed the Board of Claims' decision to the trial court, which affirmed the Board of Claims' decision.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court in all respects, except for its decision regarding the individual governmental employees. The Court of Appeals held that the allegations against the employees concerned ministerial rather than discretionary acts, and, therefore, reversed the trial court's ruling that the employees were entitled to a qualified immunity*131 defense. We accepted discretionary review.
On appeal to this Court, LFUCG raises two allegations of error: (1) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that it could remain in the case for purposes of apportionment, and (2) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the individual employees were not entitled to a qualified immunity defense. In their appeal, Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek raise four allegations of error: (1) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that LFUCG is entitled to sovereign immunity, (2) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that KRS 67A.060 is constitutional, (3) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that fault could be apportioned against LFUCG, and (4) the Court of Appeals erred in holding that Rodgers' conditional guilty plea was not admissible.
We affirm the Court of Appeals' holdings that (1) LFUCG is entitled to sovereign immunity, (2) KRS 67A.060 is constitutional, and (3) Rodgers' conditional guilty plea is not admissible. We reverse the Court of Appeals' holding that fault can be apportioned against LFUCG. Further, we hold that the trial court erred in concluding that the allegations against the individual employees were discretionary. Because of the state of the record, we do not go as far as the Court of Appeals on this issue. Finally, we hold that the Board of Claims has no jurisdiction of this case under KRS 44.071 because LFUCG is not a "municipality."
I. Sovereign Immunity
Jurdana, Meculj, and Vasicek argue that LFUCG is neither a county nor a county government; that, rather, LFUCG is a new and different form of local government not anticipated by the Kentucky Constitution. Thus, they argue that the question of LFUCG's immunity must be determined by applying the state agency test set forth in Kentucky Center for the Arts v. Berns, Ky., 801 S.W.2d 327 (1991). A necessary premise for their argument that LFUCG is not a county is that Fayette County no longer exists. Th
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