Brenda Davis v. Buchanan County, Missouri, 11 F.4th 604

Justin Stufflebean died after allegedly being denied necessary medication while jailed; his parents sued Buchanan County (among others) for wrongful death.
County moved to dismiss invoking sovereign immunity under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600; district court denied the motion.
County had contracted with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc. (ACH) to provide inmate health services for about $300,000/year; the contract required ACH to procure liability insurance and name the County as an additional insured.
ACH obtained liability coverage from Arch Insurance Group that the County does not dispute covers the wrongful-death claim.
Central legal question: whether the County’s indirect acquisition of insurance via contract with ACH constitutes a “purchase” under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.610(1), thereby waiving sovereign immunity.
Eighth Circuit (majority) affirmed the district court, holding the County waived immunity; Judge Stras dissented.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether an indirect acquisition of liability insurance (via contractor who procures insurance and names the county as additional insured) is a “purchase” under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.610(1) that waives sovereign immunity	County paid ACH which, under contract, obtained insurance covering the County; "purchase" means obtaining by paying money, so waiver applies	"Purchase" requires the governing body itself to buy the insurance; third-party procurement does not satisfy the statute; strict construction favors immunity	Majority: Indirect acquisition qualifies as a "purchase," so § 537.610(1) waives the County’s sovereign immunity and the denial of dismissal is affirmed; dissent would preserve immunity

Argonaut Great Cent. Ins. Co. v. Audrain Cty. Joint Commc’ns, 781 F.3d 925 (8th Cir. 2015) (collateral-order doctrine supports interlocutory appeal)
Roemmich v. Eagle Eye Dev., LLC, 526 F.3d 343 (8th Cir. 2008) (de novo review of district court’s interpretation of state law)
Washington v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 747 F.3d 955 (8th Cir. 2014) (follow Missouri Supreme Court decisions on state-law interpretation)
Richardson v. State Highway & Transp. Comm’n, 863 S.W.2d 876 (Mo. 1993) (statutory waivers of sovereign immunity must be strictly construed)
Fugate v. Jackson Hewitt, Inc., 347 S.W.3d 81 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011) ("purchase" need not involve direct payment from buyer to seller)
Gregg v. City of Kansas City, 272 S.W.3d 353 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008) (discusses when third-party insurance requirements do or do not amount to a purchase by the public entity)
State ex rel. Goldsworthy v. Kanatzar, 543 S.W.3d 582 (Mo. 2018) (use plain text and dictionary meaning in statutory interpretation)
Peters v. Wady Indus., Inc., 489 S.W.3d 784 (Mo. 2016) (courts may not add words to a statute)
Schneider ex rel. Schneider v. State, Div. of Water Safety, 748 S.W.2d 677 (Mo. 1988) (interpretation of immunity-waiving provisions)
Winston v. Reorganized Sch. Dist. R-2, Lawrence Cty., Miller, 636 S.W.2d 324 (Mo. 1982) (statute’s purpose balances protecting governmental funds with allowing redress for claimants)