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Keywords

plaintiffnegligencemotionharassmentgood faithbad faith

lawsuitplaintiffdefendantnegligencemotionsummary judgmentgood faith

Related Cases

Baptie v. Bruno, 195 Vt. 308, 88 A.3d 1212, 2013 VT 117

Facts

On October 28, 2007, Thomas Baptie called 911 to report threats made by Jonathon Bruno against his family, which included a voicemail from Bruno. Officer Aron McNeil responded to the call, spoke with the Bapties, and attempted to contact Bruno, advising them to report any further threats. Despite McNeil's efforts to locate Bruno and issue a citation for harassment, Bruno ultimately murdered John Baptie on November 1, 2007, after a confrontation in a parking lot.

On October 28, 2007, defendant Aron McNeil, a Town of Castleton police officer at the time, responded to Thomas Baptie's 911 call indicating that his family had received threatening telephone calls from a person named Jonathon Bruno, who was angry because plaintiff's son, John Baptie, had not paid Bruno money that Bruno believed was owed him.

Issue

Did Officer McNeil owe a special duty to John Baptie that would make him liable for the murder, and was he entitled to qualified immunity?

Rule

Public officials are entitled to qualified immunity when acting within the scope of their authority, in good faith, and performing discretionary acts. A duty to protect individuals from third-party criminal acts arises only when there is special knowledge or notice of potential harm.

Qualified immunity attaches to public officials who are (1) acting during the course of their employment and acting, or reasonably believing they are acting, within the scope of their authority; (2) acting in good faith; and (3) performing discretionary, as opposed to ministerial, acts.

Analysis

The court determined that McNeil's actions were discretionary and within the scope of his duties as a police officer. The court found no evidence of bad faith or a special relationship that would impose a duty on McNeil to prevent Bruno's actions. The court also noted that the threats made by Bruno did not provide McNeil with sufficient grounds to foresee the murder, as the relationship between Bruno and John Baptie was not one of immediate danger.

Here, the scope of defendant's investigation into plaintiffs' complaint was at the heart of his official and discretionary duties as a police officer.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision, concluding that McNeil was entitled to qualified immunity and that the plaintiffs could not establish the necessary elements of their negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

For all of the above reasons, we affirm the superior court's grant of summary judgment to defendant.

Who won?

Officer Aron McNeil prevailed in the case because the court found he was entitled to qualified immunity and did not owe a special duty to the victim, as his actions were deemed discretionary and not outrageous.

We agree with the superior court's conclusions that defendant is entitled to qualified official immunity from plaintiffs' lawsuit and that, in any event, plaintiffs cannot prove all of the elements of their negligence or intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) claims.

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