Opinion
Argued October 31, 1977
December 8, 1977.
Sovereign immunity — Constitution of Pennsylvania, Article I, Section, 11 — High public officials — Officers of the Commonwealth — Jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania — Secretary of Public Welfare — Commissioner of Mental Health — Superintendent and trustees of state hospital.
1. The Department of Public Welfare is protected from suit in trespass by sovereign immunity under Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania. [616-17]
2. Under the Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act of 1970, Act 1970, July 31, P.L. 673, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has original jurisdiction over actions brought against officers of the Commonwealth which are those officials having state-wide policy-making authority. [617]
3. The Secretary of Public Welfare and the Commissioner of Mental Health have state-wide policymaking authority and are officers of the Commonwealth, and such officers are high public officials absolutely immune from suit when acting within the scope of their authority. [617-18]
4. Public officials, not classified as high public officials, enjoy conditional immunity from suit arising out of acts of ordinary negligence committed while acting within the scope of their authority. [617-18]
5. The superintendent and trustees of a state hospital, lacking state-wide policymaking authority, are not officers of the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has no original jurisdiction over actions brought against them. [618]
Argued October 31, 1977, before Judges WILKINSON, JR. and ROGERS, sitting as a panel of two.
Original jurisdiction, No. 15 T.D. 1977, in case of Thomas F. Wallace v. Department of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Helene Wohlgemuth, Secretary of Public Welfare for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the Director and Superintendent of Dixmont State Hospital; the Commissioner of Mental Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and the Trustees of Dixmont State Hospital. Complaint in trespass in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County seeking damages for personal injuries. Case transferred to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Defendants filed preliminary objections. Held: Preliminary objections of Department of Public Welfare, Secretary of Public Welfare and Commissioner of Mental Health sustained. Complaint dismissed as to those defendants. Case transferred to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
David L. Gropp, for plaintiff.
Paul R. Marks, with him Egler Reinstadtler; Robert S. Englesberg, Assistant Attorney General, and Robert P. Kane, Attorney General, for defendants.
Thomas F. Wallace started suit in trespass in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County seeking damages for injuries sustained in a fall from a second-story window at the Dixmont State Hospital where he was a patient. Wallace sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare; Helene Wohlgemuth, Secretary of Public Welfare; the Commissioner of Mental Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the Superintendent of Dixmont State Hospital; and the trustees of the same institution. The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas transferred the case to this Court pursuant to Pa. R.C.P. No. 213(f), on the ground that exclusive jurisdiction was in the Commonwealth Court by virtue of Section 401 of the Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act of 1970, Act of July 31, 1970, P.L. 673, as amended, 17 Pa.C.S.A. § 211.401.
The Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare, has filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer asserting the suit against it is barred by the sovereign immunity granted the Commonwealth by Article I, Section 11 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. These preliminary objections must be sustained. It has been consistently held that the Commonwealth and its agencies enjoy absolute immunity absent legislative assent to such suits. Biello v. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, 454 Pa. 179, 301 A.2d 849 (1973).
The Secretary of Public Welfare, Commissioner of Mental Health, the Superintendent and the trustees of Dixmont State Hospital have also filed preliminary objections in the nature of demurrers, claiming, inter alia, that they are high public officials entitled to absolute immunity from suits arising out of performance of their duties. Before ruling on the preliminary objections of these defendants, we must examine our jurisdiction. In Fischer v. Kassab, 32 Pa. Commw. 581, ___ A.2d ___ (1977), President Judge BOWMAN thoroughly and definitively treated the matter of our original jurisdiction with respect to actions or proceedings against officers of the Commonwealth as that term is used in Section 401(a)(1) of the Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act and concluded that:
The question to be asked, therefore, is whether the defendant in question is charged with responsibility to independently initiate administrative policy on a state-wide basis with regard to a sovereign function of the Commonwealth. If the answer is no, this Court is without jurisdiction. If the answer is yes, we must then rule upon the issue of immunity.
Fischer v. Kassab, supra at ___, ___ A.2d at ___.
Fischer v. Kassab, supra, did not disturb the settled decisional law that high public officials acting within the scope of their authority are entitled to absolute immunity while non-high public officials enjoy conditional immunity for acts of ordinary negligence committed while they were acting within the scope of their authority. Fischer did, however, hold that this Court's jurisdiction under Section 401(a)(1) is limited to cases in which the defendant officers are persons having state-wide authority.
Turning to the officers sued here, we observe first that Helene Wohlgemuth, Secretary of Public Welfare, and the Commissioner of Mental Health are officers of the Commonwealth charged with administration of policy on a state-wide basis. We therefore have jurisdiction of the suits against these defendants. We hold that they are high public officials who are absolutely immune from this suit. See McCoy v. Liquor Control Board, 9 Pa. Commw. 107, 305 A.2d 746 (1973), aff'd per curiam, 457 Pa. 513, 326 A.2d 396 (1974).
Although the Superintendent and trustees of Dixmont State Hospital may well be held to be high public officials entitled to absolute immunity, we lack jurisdiction to decide this question because they do not have state-wide policymaking authority and are not therefore "officers" within the meaning of Section 401(a)(1) of the Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act. We must transfer the proceedings against these defendants to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 8th day of December, 1977, it is hereby ordered as follows:
1. The preliminary objections of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare, Helene Wohlgemuth, Secretary of Public Welfare for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Commissioner of Mental Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are hereby sustained and as to them, the plaintiff's complaint is dismissed.
2. As to the Superintendent and trustees of Dixmont State Hospital, these proceedings are hereby transferred to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County for disposition on the merits including the outstanding preliminary objections. Section 503 (b) of the Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act of 1970, Act of July 31, 1970, P.L. 673, as amended, 17 Pa.C.S.A. § 211.503(b).
3. The Chief Clerk shall transmit to the Prothonotary of said Court the record of the above proceedings in its entirety together with a copy of this Order.