Howard v. City of Columbus

In Howard v. City of Columbus, 239 Ga. App. 399, 410 (2) (a) (521 SE2d 51) (1999) the Court specifically held that section, while imposing a duty and the cost of medical care of inmates in the custody of the county upon the county, did not waive sovereign immunity of the county. While OCGA 42-5-2 (a) imposes the duty and the cost for medical care of inmates in the custody of a county upon the county, such statute did not waive sovereign immunity of the county or its agents and employees. Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX of the 1983 Georgia Constitution created constitutional sovereign immunity for the state and its political subdivisions. Id. at 410 (2) (a). The Court then went on to state: (A) county is not liable to suit for any cause of action unless made so by statute. OCGA 36-1-4. This includes actions brought under a theory of negligence as the plaintiffs have asserted in this case. . . . Thus, the City of Columbus, Muscogee County, as well as various individual defendants sued in their official capacities are all protected from tort action by sovereign immunity. Id. However, in Division (2) (b) of Howard, the Court went on to discuss whether the official or qualified immunity of certain defendants who were sued in their individual capacities was waived. After finding that the provision of medical care is a ministerial rather than a discretionary act, we held that "such act is not subject to either sovereign immunity or official immunity." Id. at 411 (2) (b).