Can a parish hospital district's nominating committee members be personally liable for their nomination work?

Plain-English summary

A legislator asked whether members of a permanent nominating committee for St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 could face personal liability while interviewing and forwarding nominees. In Opinion 03-0338, the AG explained La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B), which limits individual liability for qualifying members of a political subdivision's board, commission, or authority when damage arises from their policy judgment within official duties and they act in good faith.

The statutory protection did not cover willful or wanton misconduct. The AG also said limiting a member's personal liability did not relieve the board or commission itself from potential liability.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Nominating committee members

The question concerned members interviewing candidates and sending names to an appointing authority. The AG treated the statute's word "shall" as mandatory for qualifying board, commission, or authority members who acted in good faith and within official functions, absent willful or wanton misconduct. It did not expressly classify the nominating committee members under that rule.

District board or commission

The opinion separated a member's individual protection from the entity's possible liability. The statutory limit for individual members did not resolve any claim against the board or commission itself.

Common questions

Does committee membership automatically eliminate personal liability?

No. The AG did not expressly decide whether these committee members qualified as members of a board, commission, or authority under the statute. The quoted protection also had good-faith and official-duty conditions and excluded willful or wanton misconduct.

Does the opinion shield the hospital district board from claims?

No. The AG expressly said a limit on individual members' liability did not relieve the board or commission itself of potential liability.

Did the AG decide liability for a particular interview or nomination?

No. The request raised concern about possible liability during those tasks; the opinion explained the statutory rule without deciding a specific damage claim.

Background and statutory framework

La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B) supplied the quoted individual-liability rule for members of boards, commissions, or authorities of political subdivisions. The opinion explained that rule in response to the nominating committee inquiry and preserved the distinction between member and entity liability.

Citations and references

• La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B): individual-liability limit and its conditions.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0338

Original opinion text

One American Place
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
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RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

OCT 0 2 2003
OPINION NUMBER 03-0338

107-A
SPECIAL DISTRICTS
84
PARISHES
90-A POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS - OFFICERS,
AGENTS, EMPLOYEES

Honorable John T. "Tom" Schedler Any person who is serving as a member of any board, commission, or authority of a political subdivision must be absolved of any
P. O. Box 1656
personal liability while acting in the course and scope of his/her
Slidell, LA 70459
duties provided he/she is in good faith and absent any intentional
misconduct on his/her part.

Dear Senator Schedler:

This office is in receipt of your recent opinion request in which you present an inquiry with respect to the personal liability of members of a permanent nominating committee within St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2. Particularly, your question arises from concerns that members of said nominating committee have relative to whether any personal liability may arise in the course of carrying out their duties (i.e., interviewing potential nominees and/or forwarding the names of nominees to the appointing authority).

La.R.S. 9:2792.4 discusses the limitations of liability of members of boards, commissions, or authorities of political subdivisions. La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B) states, in relevant part:

"A person who serves as a member of a board, commission, or authority of a political subdivision as defined in Subsection A, shall not be individually liable for any act or omission resulting in damage or injury, arising out of the exercise of his judgment in the formation and implementation of policy while acting as a member of a board, commission, or authority of that political subdivision, provided he was acting in good faith and within the scope of his official functions and duties, unless the damage or injury was caused by his willful or wanton misconduct."

For the purposes of statutory construction, the word "shall" is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive. La.R.S, 9:2792.4(B) uses the word "shall" in its language, which establishes that the provisions contained therein are to be regarded as a mandate from the legislature. It is clear on the face of the statute that any person who is serving as a member of any board, commission, or authority of a political subdivision must be absolved of any individual liability while acting in the course and scope of his/her duties provided he/she is in good faith and absent any intentional misconduct on his/her part.

Page 2

OPINION NO. 03-0338
Thomas L. Tyler,
Deputy Chief of Staff
Requesting on behalf of Sen. John Schedler
Page: -2-

Therefore, where persons may have been damaged or injured as a result of acts or omissions to act by employees or officers of a board, commission or other entity, individual members are not liable (unless caused by the individual’s willful or wanton misconduct), but this limitation of liability does not relieve the board or commission, itself, from potential liability.

I trust that this adequately responds to your inquiry. Should you have any further questions, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL