MADISON, a fictitious name of a mentally disabled person, through her court-appointed guardian, Brenda BRYANT, Appellant, v. BABCOCK CENTER, INC., a South Carolina Corporation; South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs; and Michelle Batchelor, in her official and individual capacities, Respondents.
No. 26198
Supreme Court of South Carolina
Heard March 7, 2006. Refiled Nov. 20, 2006.
Rehearing Denied Dec. 27, 2006.
638 S.E.2d 650
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed.
Danny C. Crowe and R. Hawthorne Barrett, of Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney, P.A., of Columbia, for Respondents Babcock Center, Inc. and Michelle Batchelor.
William H. Davidson, II and Andrew F. Lindemann, of Davidson, Morrison, and Lindemann, P.A., of Columbia, for Respondent South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs.
Acting Justice COLE:
In this appeal, we are asked to decide the novel issue of whether a private treatment center owes a duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising a mentally retarded person admitted to its care; the novel issue of whether a state agency which has a contract with the center owes a duty of care to the person; and whether the mentally retarded person in this case, as a matter of law, proximately caused her own injuries.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
It is undisputed that Madison1 (Appellant), now thirty-two years old, is a mentally retarded woman with disabilities and
Appellant was voluntarily admitted as a client in 1994, when she was twenty years old, to a residential home managed by Babcock Center. Babcock Center is a private, non-profit corporation based in Columbia that provides housing and other services for people with autism, mental retardation, head or spinal injuries, or related disabilities. Department has approved Babcock Center as a contractual provider of such services, and the program at issue in this case is the Community Training Home Program II. This residential program offers mentally retarded persons the opportunity to live in the community and receive individualized supervision and support services. Appellant alleges Department coordinates, directs, funds, and oversees the provision of services by contractual providers such as Babcock Center. Appellant further alleges Department, along with its county-based boards, is responsible for performing timely and adequate developmental evaluations of clients and assisting providers in determining the level of care and services required.
Appellant, although physically an adult, alleges she has the emotional and intellectual maturity of a seven- to ten-year-old child. She can read, write, and understand math at the level of a first- or second-grade child. Appellant alleges her mental disability means she is not able to live or work independently. She cannot, for example, cook, wash clothes, run bath water, use a toaster oven, put on her own makeup, or perform personal hygiene tasks without adult supervision. Appellant cannot tell time, understand a sequence of dates or use a calendar, make change for a dollar, or give or follow simple geographical directions. Appellant is not allowed to leave either her parent‘s home or the Babcock Center home without permission and adult supervision.
On August 30, 1995, Appellant, then twenty-one years old, placed her luggage on the front porch of the Babcock Center home and went to bed fully clothed. After everyone was asleep, she secretly slipped out of the house sometime after 1 a.m. and left in a car with two men who either lived or recently had lived in a home managed by Babcock Center. Another woman already was in the car. Appellant believed the four of them planned to go to an unknown location and set up housekeeping on their own. Instead, the other woman was taken home a short while later after an argument.
Appellant and the two men went to a house, where she had sex with one or both of them. Appellant initially told police and her mother she was raped, but testified at a deposition in this case she was “talked into having sex.” Appellant returned to her Babcock Center home the following morning. Appellant alleges she was a virgin when she was admitted to the Babcock Center home. She contracted herpes simplex type I, a sexually transmitted disease, after one or more sexual encounters with men while staying at the Babcock Center home.
A probate court judge in 1997 issued an order appointing Appellant‘s mother as her guardian and conservator. The judge found Appellant was mentally retarded and lacked the capacity to exercise good judgment with regard to her person, assets, and financial affairs.
Appellant‘s amended complaint alleges causes of action for negligence, gross negligence, and willful indifference against Respondents. Appellant alleges, among other things, that both Babcock Center and Department owed a duty of care to Appellant, which they breached by failing to exercise sufficient
The circuit court granted summary judgment to Respondents. The judge ruled in two separate orders that, as a matter of law, Respondents “had no legal duty to maintain a constant watch over the plaintiff so as to prevent her surreptitious elopement.” Furthermore, the proximate cause of any damages suffered by Appellant, as a matter of law, was Appellant‘s “own voluntary and intentional acts.”
Appellant appealed. We certified this case for review from the Court of Appeals pursuant to
ISSUES
- Did the circuit court err in granting summary judgment to Babcock Center on the ground it owes no legal duty of care to Appellant, a mentally retarded client voluntarily admitted to its care?
- Did the circuit court err in granting summary judgment to Department on the ground it owes no legal duty of care to Appellant, a mentally retarded client voluntarily admitted to Babcock Center, a contractual provider of services?
- Did the circuit court err in granting summary judgment to Respondents on the ground that, as a matter of law, the proximate cause of any injuries and damages suffered by Appellant were the result of her own voluntary and intentional acts?
- Did the circuit court err in ruling that certain allegations against Department are time-barred by the statute of limitations?
A trial court may properly grant a motion for summary judgment when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
On appeal from an order granting summary judgment, the appellate court applies the same standard that governs the trial court. The appellate court will review all ambiguities, conclusions, and inferences arising in and from the evidence in a light most favorable to the appellant, the non-moving party below. Osborne v. Adams, 346 S.C. 4, 7, 550 S.E.2d 319, 321 (2001); Williams v. Chesterfield Lumber Co., 267 S.C. 607, 230 S.E.2d 447 (1976).
In a case raising a novel question of law, the appellate court is free to decide the question with no particular deference to the lower court. I‘On, L.L.C. v. Town of Mt. Pleasant, 338 S.C. 406, 411, 526 S.E.2d 716, 719 (2000) (citing
DISCUSSION
I. DUTY OF CARE OWED BY BABCOCK CENTER
Appellant argues the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to Babcock Center on the ground it owes no
We conclude the circuit court erred in accepting Respondents’ argument that Babcock Center either had a “twenty-four-hour, eyes-on” duty of supervision—i.e., an extremely high and rigorous duty—or no duty at all. The circuit court in its order repeatedly described the purported duty as one of maintaining “constant watch” over Appellant. Appellant at the summary judgment hearing contended the duty was one of reasonable supervision, but the circuit court and Respondents appeared overly focused on the “high duty” versus “no duty” positions.
Respondents’ position results in a distorted view of the center‘s duty because, first, it assumes an all-or-nothing approach with regard to the existence of a duty. Cf. Cunningham ex rel. Grice v. Helping Hands, Inc., 352 S.C. 485, 493, 575 S.E.2d 549, 553 (2003) (disagreeing with Court of Appeals’ conclusion that children‘s shelter had an enhanced or specific duty to protect child at all times, instead reasoning that under circumstances presented shelter had only a general duty to supervise a child in its care; thus, the defense of assumption of risk was applicable as law then existed). Second, Respondents’ position confuses the existence of a duty with standards of care establishing the extent and nature of the duty in a particular case, standards by which a fact finder may judge whether a duty was breached. Such standards are grounded in the common law, statutes, regulations, or policies and guidelines promulgated by Babcock Center or Department.
In a negligence action, a plaintiff must show that (1) the defendant owes a duty of care to the plaintiff, (2) the defendant breached the duty by a negligent act or omission, (3) the defendant‘s breach was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff‘s injury, and (4) the plaintiff suffered an injury or damages. Steinke v. S.C. Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, 336 S.C. 373, 387, 520 S.E.2d 142, 149 (1999); Shipes v. Piggly Wiggly St. Andrews, Inc., 269 S.C. 479, 238 S.E.2d 167 (1977). The court must determine, as a matter of law, whether the law recognizes a particular duty. If there is
Under South Carolina common law, there is no general duty to control the conduct of another or to warn a third person or potential victim of danger. We have recognized five exceptions to this rule: (1) where the defendant has a special relationship to the victim; (2) where the defendant has a special relationship to the injurer; (3) where the defendant voluntarily undertakes a duty; (4) where the defendant negligently or intentionally creates the risk; and (5) where a statute imposes a duty on the defendant. Faile v. S.C. Dept. of Juvenile Justice, 350 S.C. 315, 334, 566 S.E.2d 536, 546 (2002) (listing cases and authority supporting each proposition). An affirmative legal duty may be created by statute, a contractual relationship, status, property interest, or some other special circumstance. Jensen v. Anderson County Dept. of Soc. Servs., 304 S.C. 195, 199, 403 S.E.2d 615, 617 (1991); Miller v. City of Camden, 317 S.C. 28, 33-34, 451 S.E.2d 401, 404 (Ct.App.1994). Moreover, it has long been the law that one who assumes to act, even though under no obligation to do so, thereby becomes obligated to act with due care. Sherer v. James, 290 S.C. 404, 406, 351 S.E.2d 148, 150 (1986); Roundtree Villas Assn. v. 4701 Kings Corp., 282 S.C. 415, 423, 321 S.E.2d 46, 50-51 (1984); Miller, 317 S.C. at 33-34, 451 S.E.2d at 404.
“One who undertakes, gratuitously or for consideration, to render services to another which he should recognize as necessary for the protection of the other‘s person or things, is subject to liability to the other for physical harm resulting from his failure to exercise reasonable care to perform his undertaking, if (a) his failure to exercise such care increases the risk of such harm, or (b) the harm is suffered because of the other‘s reliance upon the undertaking.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 323 (1965). In addition, “[o]ne who, being under no duty to do so, takes charge of another who is helpless adequately to aid or protect himself is subject to liability to the other for any bodily harm caused to him by (a) the failure of the actor to exercise reasonable care to secure the safety of the other while within the actor‘s charge, or (b)
The present case falls within the first, third, fourth, and fifth exceptions specified in Faile, as well as within the circumstances outlined in Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 323-324.
Babcock Center had a special relationship with Appellant because she was a client with special needs and disabilities admitted for care and treatment at the center. Babcock Center voluntarily undertook the duty of supervising and caring for Appellant as provided in its contractual relationship with Department. Babcock Center allegedly acted negligently in creating the risk of injury to Appellant by not properly supervising her and allowing improper sexual contacts between Appellant and men. Furthermore, the center had a statutory duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising Appellant. See e.g.
Accordingly, we hold that, under the common law, a private person or business entity which accepts the responsibility of providing care, treatment, or services to a mentally retarded or disabled client has a duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising the client and providing appropriate care and treatment to the client. See Lee v. Dept. of Health and Rehabilitative Servs., 698 So.2d 1194, 1199 (Fla.1997) (mentally retarded woman who became pregnant while in custody of state agency stated cause of action for negligence against agency employees who allegedly failed to follow agency‘s rules and carry out their assigned duties in supervising patients); Butler v. Circulus, Inc., 557 S.W.2d 469, 475 (Mo.App.1977) (mentally retarded minor plaintiff who was resident and student at defendant‘s licensed institution stated cause of action for negligence against defendant for failing to supervise employees who allegedly physically and mentally abused plaintiff as part of a behavior modification program); Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 323-324; cf. Rogers v. S.C. Dept. of Parole & Comm. Corrections, 320 S.C. 253, 464 S.E.2d 330 (1995) (holding that common law duty to warn arises when a person being released from custody has made a specific threat
We further hold that, if Appellant proves at trial she has the limited emotional and intellectual capacity she has demonstrated at the summary judgment stage, Appellant should be treated as the equivalent of a willful, immature child who really has no idea of what is best for her in determining whether Babcock Center breached the duty of care owed to her. “Children, wherever they go, must be expected to act upon childish instincts and impulses; and others, who are chargeable with a duty of care and caution towards them must
In Standard v. Shine, 278 S.C. 337, 295 S.E.2d 786 (1982), we abandoned age-based presumptions previously used in assessing whether an injured child‘s own negligence contributed to his injury. “The capacities of children vary greatly, not only with age, but also with individuals of the same age. Therefore, no very definite statement can be made to just what standard is to be applied to them.... Of course, a child of tender years is not required to conform to an adult standard of care.... [A] minor‘s conduct should be judged by the standard of behavior to be expected of a child of like age, intelligence, and experience under like circumstances.” Id. at 339, 295 S.E.2d at 787; accord Jones ex rel. Castor v. Carter, 336 S.C. 110, 117, 518 S.E.2d 619, 622 (Ct.App.1999); Brown v. Smalls, 325 S.C. 547, 556, 481 S.E.2d 444, 449 (Ct.App.1997). Similarly, the conduct of a mentally retarded or disabled client of a residential home training program should be judged by the behavior to be expected of a person of like age, intelligence, and experience under like circumstances.
The factfinder may consider relevant standards of care from various sources in determining whether a defendant breached a duty owed to an injured person in a negligence case. The standard of care in a given case may be established and defined by the common law, statutes, administrative regulations, industry standards, or a defendant‘s own policies and guidelines. See e.g. Steinke v. S.C. Dept. of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, 336 S.C. 373, 387-89, 520 S.E.2d 142, 149-50 (1999) (affirmative legal duty may be created by statute which establishes the standard of care); Clifford v. Southern Ry. Co., 87 S.C. 324, 69 S.E. 513 (1910) (statute may create special duty of care and breach of that statute may constitute negligence per se); Peterson v. Natl. R.R. Passenger Corp., 365 S.C. 391, 397, 618 S.E.2d 903, 906 (2005) (although federal regulations provided standard of care, internal policies of company which owned the line of track and railroad which owned the train were not preempted by federal law, and company‘s and railroad‘s deviation from own internal policies was admissible as evidence they deviated from standard of
Appellant cites federal Medicaid or Medicare regulations in her complaint, and both Appellant and Babcock Center mention various statutes, regulations, and program guidelines in their briefs. We express no opinion on particular standards of care which may be relevant and properly applied in this case. The identification of sources establishing the standard of care with regard to Appellant will be an issue for the parties and court on remand of this case.
In sum, we find the existence of a common law duty owed by Babcock Center to Appellant. The precise extent and nature of that duty, which is grounded in relevant standards of care, and whether the duty was breached must be determined by a jury on remand.
II. DUTY OF CARE OWED BY DEPARTMENT
Appellant argues the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to Department on the ground it owes no legal
A. DEPARTMENT‘S DUTY UNDER THE COMMON LAW
As explained above, under the common law, a private person or business entity which accepts the responsibility of providing care, treatment, or services to a mentally retarded or disabled client has a duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising the client and providing appropriate care and treatment to the client. Thus, to the extent Appellant relies on this common law duty, summary judgment was wrongly granted to Department. See Arthurs ex rel. Estate of Munn v. Aiken County, 346 S.C. 97, 103-105, 551 S.E.2d 579, 582-83 (2001) (public duty rule is applied only when an action is founded upon a statutory duty; when duty is based on common law, then its existence is analyzed as it would be with a private defendant which is not a government entity pursuant to Tort Claims Act); Trousdell v. Cannon, 351 S.C. 636, 641, 572 S.E.2d 264, 266-67 (2002) (same); Morris v. Anderson, 349 S.C. 607, 611-12, 564 S.E.2d 649, 651-52 (2002) (same);
When a governmental entity owes a duty of care to a plaintiff under the common law and other elements of negligence are shown, the next step is to analyze the applicability of exceptions to the waiver of immunity contained in
Department asserts it is not liable for the torts of its independent contractor, Babcock Center, pursuant to
We find this position unpersuasive because Department owes a common law duty of care directly to Appellant. The fact an independent contractor provided services to Appellant or the fact a third party may have committed a criminal act in harming Appellant does not affect the existence of Department‘s duty. In Greenville Memorial Auditorium v. Martin, this Court held the city liable for a patron‘s personal injuries resulting from the criminal acts of another despite the city‘s claim of immunity under
Next, Department asserts it is immune from liability under
The circuit court also relied on
“Gross negligence is ordinarily a mixed question of law and fact.” Faile, 350 S.C. at 332, 566 S.E.2d at 545 (citing Clyburn v. Sumter County School Dist. # 17, 317 S.C. 50, 451 S.E.2d 885 (1994)). “When the evidence supports but one reasonable inference, it is solely a question of law for court, otherwise it is an issue best resolved by the jury.... In most cases, gross negligence is a factually controlled concept whose determination best rests with the jury.” Id. at 332, 566 S.E.2d at 545. We conclude that the issue of whether Department acted in a grossly negligent manner is a factual issue for a jury.
In sum, we find the existence of a common law duty owed by Department to Appellant. Whether the duty was breached and whether the Department met the applicable standard of care must be determined by a jury on remand.
B. DEPARTMENT‘S STATUTORY DUTY AND IMPACT OF PUBLIC DUTY RULE
In Arthurs, we explained that
[t]he public duty rule presumes statutes which create or define the duties of a public office have the essential purpose of providing for the structure and operation of government or for securing the general welfare and safety of the public. Such statutes create no duty of care towards individual members of the general public.... The public duty
rule is a negative defense which denies an essential element of the plaintiff‘s cause of action: the existence of a duty of care to the individual plaintiff.... It is not a matter of immunity, which is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded and which may be waived. Further, it is a rule of statutory construction, that is, a means of determining whether the legislative body that enacted the statute or ordinance intended to create a private cause of action for its breach.... The public duty rule insulates public officials, employees, and governmental entities from liability for the negligent performance of their official duties by negating the existence of a duty towards the plaintiff.
Arthurs, 346 S.C. at 104, 551 S.E.2d at 582 (citations and quotes omitted).
We retained the public duty rule, finding it compatible with the Tort Claims Act. However, the rule is applied only when an action is founded upon a statutory duty, not when the duty is grounded in the common law. Arthurs, 346 S.C. at 103-05, 551 S.E.2d at 582-83,
As explained in Arthurs,
[a]n exception to the general rule exists when the statutory duty is owed to individuals rather than to the public at large. Our courts are reluctant to find a special duty.... [T]his Court [has] adopted a six part test developed by the Court of Appeals ... for determining when such a “special duty” exists:
(1) an essential purpose of the statute is to protect against a particular type of harm;
(2) the statute, either directly or indirectly, imposes on a specific public officer a duty to guard against or not cause that harm;
(3) the class of persons the statute intends to protect is identifiable before the fact;
(4) the plaintiff is a person within the protected class;
(5) the public officer knows or has reason to know the likelihood of harm to members of the class if he fails to do his duty; and
(6) the officer is given sufficient authority to act in the circumstances or he undertakes to act in the exercise of his office.
Arthurs, 346 S.C. at 106, 551 S.E.2d at 583; accord Steinke, 336 S.C. at 388-89, 520 S.E.2d at 149-50; Jensen, 304 S.C. at 200, 403 S.E.2d at 617.
In the present case, Department‘s operations and responsibilities, as well as the care, treatment, and rights of mentally retarded or disabled persons, are governed by a comprehensive scheme of statutes and regulations. See e.g.
We express no opinion on the issues of whether Department owes a duty grounded in statutes or regulations, or whether Department owes a special duty to Appellant under the analysis of the public duty rule set forth in Arthurs, Steinke, and Jensen. The parties have not addressed these issues, which may be explored on remand of this case.
III. PROXIMATE CAUSE
Appellant contends the circuit court erred in ruling that the proximate cause of any damages suffered by Appellant, as a matter of law, was Appellant‘s own voluntary and intentional acts. We agree.
Negligence is not actionable unless it is a proximate cause of the injury. Hanselmann v. McCardle, 275 S.C. 46, 48, 267 S.E.2d 531, 533 (1980). Proximate cause requires proof of both causation in fact and legal cause. Oliver v. S.C. Dept. of Highways and Pub. Transp., 309 S.C. 313, 316, 422 S.E.2d 128, 130 (1992).
The defendant‘s negligence does not have to be the sole proximate cause of the plaintiff‘s injury; instead, the plaintiff must prove the defendant‘s negligence was at least one of the proximate causes of the injury. Hughes v. Children‘s Clinic, P.A., 269 S.C. 389, 398, 237 S.E.2d 753, 757 (1977). The question of proximate cause ordinarily is one of fact for the jury, and it may be resolved either by direct or circumstantial evidence. The trial judge‘s sole function regarding the issue is to inquire whether particular conclusions are the only reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the evidence. Childers, 248 S.C. at 324, 149 S.E.2d at 765; McNair v. Rainsford, 330 S.C. 332, 349, 499 S.E.2d 488, 497 (Ct.App.1998).
We hold that the issue of whether Appellant‘s injuries were proximately caused by the alleged negligence of Respondents is an issue of fact for the jury. The jury must determine whether Appellant‘s damages would have occurred “but for” Respondents’ alleged negligence, as well as whether such damages were foreseeable, i.e., whether the damages were the natural and probable consequence of a failure to exercise reasonable care in supervising and providing care and treatment to Appellant. The jury may perform its task after gaining a proper understanding of the facts and circumstances of Appellant‘s case, as well as the applicable standards of care.
We further agree with Appellant that the circuit court erred in reasoning she was competent to make her own decisions—such as leaving the Babcock Center home—because she was not adjudicated incompetent to handle her
Appellant alleges she has the emotional and intellectual capacity of a young child. Her actions and the alleged negligence of Respondents must be assessed in light of her mental abilities and the standards governing Respondents’ duty of care. Appellant‘s competence and ability to handle her own affairs, or the lack thereof, is a factual issue related to proximate cause which must be resolved by a jury.6 The circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to Respondents on the ground of proximate cause.
IV. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Appellant argues the circuit court erred in relying on the two-year statute of limitations contained in
While the circuit court order is rather vague on this point, Department argued at the summary judgment hearing that
The events in question occurred August 30, 1995. Appellant served her initial complaint on Department on August 29, 1997, meeting the two-year deadline. Accordingly, allegations relating to Department‘s alleged negligence in connection with Appellant‘s initial evaluation and admission in 1994 are not time-barred.
CONCLUSION
We reverse the circuit court and hold that Babcock Center and its employee have a common law duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising and providing care and treatment to Appellant, a mentally retarded client with disabilities and special needs. Department also owes a common law duty to Appellant and statutory exceptions to the waiver of immunity which Department asserts are inapplicable. We decline to reach the issues of whether Department owes a statutory duty or the impact of the public duty rule. We hold that whether the breach of a duty proximately caused Appellant‘s injuries is a question of fact for the jury. Finally, we hold that allegations relating to Department‘s alleged negligence in connection with Appellant‘s initial evaluation and admission are not time-barred.
REVERSED.
TOAL, C.J., MOORE, WALLER, JJ., concur.
PLEICONES, J., concurring in a separate opinion.
Justice PLEICONES concurring:
I concur in the result reached by the majority because I agree that Babcock Center owed a common law duty of due care to Appellant. I write separately because I do not agree with that portion of the majority opinion that finds a duty based upon statute. In my opinion, the source of the duty owed to Appellant is not found in or created by any statute.