Celaya v. Hall

Rule of Law:

Under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, a volunteer acting on behalf of a governmental entity, with or without compensation, may be deemed a 'public employee' based on a multi-factor agency test that considers the totality of the circumstances; however, whether such an employee was acting within the 'scope of duties' is a question of fact that cannot be resolved solely by habit evidence at the summary judgment stage.

Facts:

• In November 1996, Celaya, a sixteen-year-old part-time employee, was collecting shopping carts in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
• On the evening of November 16, 1996, Lin Hall drove his automobile over Celaya's foot in the Wal-Mart parking lot, causing injuries.
• At the time of the incident, Lin Hall had been a volunteer chaplain with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department since 1988, and was driving a Department vehicle.
• Hall's duties as a volunteer chaplain included providing spiritual counseling to crime victims and their families, counseling sheriffs deputies, presiding over ceremonies, and providing support services at crime scenes, and he was on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
• The Department provided Hall with an unmarked, take-home vehicle equipped with a sheriff's radio, a pager, and business cards identifying him as the Department chaplain.
• Lin Hall maintained a separate, full-time, compensated position as a minister with Teen Challenge of New Mexico.
• Hall conceded that his trip to Wal-Mart was a personal errand, but stated under oath that it was his custom to drive the Department vehicle only in connection with his official chaplain duties and would only stop for personal errands on the way to or from a chaplain assignment.
• Hall could not recall what he was doing immediately prior to his trip to Wal-Mart or how much time had passed since his last Department-related activity.

Procedural Posture:

• In October 1999, Celaya filed a complaint in district court to recover damages, naming Bernalillo County, the Department, and Lin Hall as defendants.
• All defendants filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that Celaya's claims were barred by the two-year statute of limitations under the Tort Claims Act (TCA).
• Upon Celaya's motion, the claims against Bernalillo County and the Department were dismissed.
• Celaya then filed an amended complaint against Lin Hall, in his individual capacity, arguing that at the time of the incident, Hall was not acting either as a Department employee or within the scope of his official duties, and thus was not protected by the TCA's two-year statute of limitations.
• Lin Hall filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming the TCA applied because he was a public employee acting within the scope of his duties.
• The district court granted summary judgment in Hall's favor, agreeing that the TCA applied.
• Celaya appealed the summary judgment decision to the Court of Appeals.
• The Court of Appeals reversed the summary judgment, finding genuine issues of material fact regarding both Hall’s status as an employee and whether he was acting within the scope of his duties.
• Lin Hall petitioned the Supreme Court of New Mexico for certiorari to determine whether either question, or both, should have been decided in his favor as a matter of law.