James v. Georgia Dep't of Pub. Safety

The evidence supported the trial court's conclusion that sovereign immunity barred the plaintiff's wrongful death action arising after her mother died from injuries she sustained when her car crashed during a high-speed police pursuit.

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Latricka Sloan died from injuries sustained when the car she was driving crashed as she fled from Georgia State Patrol officers in a high-speed chase. Sloan’s adult daughter, Breshonda James, on behalf of herself and her minor siblings, brought this wrongful death action against the Georgia Department of Public Safety the Department, the state agency that oversees the day-to-day operations of the Georgia State Patrol. In the action, James alleged that one of the officers negligently failed to comply with the Department’s pursuit policy by continuing the chase and executing a Precision Immobilization Technique PIT maneuver to stop Sloan’s car. The trial court granted the Department’s motion to dismiss the action for want of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that the Department had sovereign immunity. James appeals.

James argues that the trial court erred in making pre-trial findings of fact in ruling on the motion to dismiss, but the Georgia Civil Practice Act permitted the trial court to make such findings. James also argues that the trial court should have disregarded certain witnesses’ testimony under the rule governing self-contradictory testimony, but that rule does not apply because those witnesses are not parties to this case. As detailed below, the record contains evidence supporting the trial court’s determination that sovereign immunity applied. In fact, James concedes that factual disputes exist on the issue. Given the evidence – albeit disputed – supporting the trial court’s ruling, our standard of review requires us to affirm.

James v. Georgia Dep't of Pub. Safety

The evidence supported the trial court's conclusion that sovereign immunity barred the plaintiff's wrongful death action arising after her mother died from injuries she sustained when her car crashed during a high-speed police pursuit.

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