585 So. 2d 887 | Ala. | 1991
Deborah M. Stephens filed a lawsuit against the Guntersville Housing Authority, seeking damages for the alleged wrongful death of her minor children Jeffrey L. Stephens and Scotty L. Stephens. The children died in a fire in Ms. Stephens's apartment, which is owned and operated by the Guntersville Housing Authority.
The sole issue to be determined in this case is whether the Guntersville Housing Authority is a "governmental entity" as defined by Ala. Code 1975, §
The housing authority was incorporated pursuant to Act No. 56, Ala. Acts of 1935 (now §
"A public body organized as a body corporate and politic in accordance with the provisions of this article for the purposes, with the powers and subject to the restrictions set forth."
(Emphasis added.)
Section
"Any incorporated municipality, any county and any department, agency, board or commission of any municipality or county, municipal or county public corporations and any such instrumentality or instrumentalities acting jointly. 'Governmental entity' shall also include county public school boards, municipal public school boards and city-county school boards when such boards do not operate as functions of the state of Alabama. 'Governmental entity' shall also mean county or city hospital boards when such boards are instrumentalities of the municipality or county or organized pursuant to authority from a municipality or county."
Initially, we note that the legislature, in enacting the housing authority act, stated that it is in the public interest to construct adequate housing for low income persons and that construction of such housing is a "public [use and purpose] for which public money may be spent." Ala. Code 1975, §
We find the language in §
"The specific inclusion of 'municipal [and] county public corporations' in the enumeration of the various governmental entities convinces us that Northwest Alabama Gas District, which was formed as a public corporation by several municipalities, does fall within the purview and intended purpose of §
11-93-2 , which limits the amount of damages [and settlement money] recoverable against a government entity."
As stated, a "housing authority" is defined as a "public body organized as a body corporate and politic." §
REVERSED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and MADDOX, HOUSTON and INGRAM, JJ., concur. *889