Brown v. Fifteenth District Agricultural Fair Ass'n

The defendant has appealed from a judgment based on a jury’s verdict awarding the plaintiff $4,000 damages for personal injuries, and from an order denying its motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The appeal is taken upon a clerk’s transcript and an agreed statement.

The accident occurred on October 1, 1954, on the grounds of the defendant while it was conducting an agricultural fair. The plaintiff was a patron at the fair, having purchased a ticket for admission. The complaint alleged, among other things, that the plaintiff was in the process of walking in a public freeway maintained by the defendant leading to the horse show arena; that the defendant so negligently maintained this passageway as to allow an open ditch to traverse a portion of said freeway; and that as a result the plaintiff tripped and fell while passing over the same. In the agreed statement the parties agreed that this accident took place on the public grounds of the defendant district during the progress of a fair ■ that the fair and the public grounds were under the direction, supervision and maintenance of the defendant; that the plaintiff was a business visitor at the fair; that just prior to the accident the plaintiff had purchased a coca cola drink at a private concession; that at the time of the fall she was walking upon the public grounds of the defendant and proceeding directly toward the horse show, and that the horse show grandstand and arena were located about a block and a half from the point where the plaintiff tripped by reason of the presence of a ditch. It is conceded that no notice of a claim was or has been filed with the defendant district or with the State of California.

It is first contended that the defendant district is the State of California within the meaning of the law governing suits

The contention that the defendant district is the State of California within the meaning of the law governing suits against the state itself cannot be sustained. While such districts are agencies of the state for certain purposes, they are not such a part of the state itself as to require that a suit against one of them be considered as a suit against the state. No cases are cited, and we have found none which would support that contention. Suits against various districts which act as agencies of the state, and in which the state itself was not made a party, have long been recognized in many decisions in this state.

It is now well settled that such agencies of the state are liable for negligence in connection with their proprietary activities when permission to sue may be traced to any statute. (Guidi v. State, 41 Cal.2d 623 [ 262 P.2d 3 ] ; Pianka v. State, 46 Cal.2d 208 [ 293 P.2d 458 ].) And if the plaintiff was injured as a result of proprietary activities engaged in by the defendant at the time in question the claim requirements of sections 16041 and 16044 of the Government Code would not be applicable in a suit against such a district, since those provisions apply only to a suit against the state itself.

It is next contended that if the defendant district is not “the state” it is an agency of the state, and the maintenance of its streets is a governmental function and it is therefore immune from suit since there is no enabling act permitting a suit against it. It is argued that there is no enabling act permitting a suit against an agricultural fair association because the general enabling provisions contained in section

This was not merely a public street in the usual sense of streets and roads, in connection with which counties and cities are charged with the responsibility of maintenance. While it was a public passageway maintained on the grounds of the defendant it may be assumed on the record before us that it was maintained to enable the public to go from one part of the grounds to another in connection with both proprietary and governmental activities carried on by the defendant district. Such a district may, and usually does, carry on both proprietary and governmental activities (Guidi v. State, supra). The fact that the place where this injury occurred was referred to in the complaint as a public freeway is not conclusive that this injury occurred in connection with a governmental activity. All of the evidence is not before us, and the agreed statement merely states that the injury took place on the fair grounds during the progress of a fair while the plaintiff was on her way from a concession where drinks were sold, with the intention of visiting the horse show at the location of the grandstand and arena. So far as shown by the record this injury may have occurred in connection with the amusement and entertainment activities of the fair, and under the authorities cited this agency would be subject to suit. In the absence of other evidence, it may be assumed in support of the judgment that this “public freeway” was merely a passageway between the entertainment features of the fair.

Section 53050 and 53051 of the Government Code do not authorize a suit against a district agricultural fair association since by their own terms they are made applicable only to cities, counties and school districts, and for the same reason the requirement for filing a verified claim with the legislative body of the agency within 90 days, contained in section 53052, is not here applicable. However, section 86 of the Agricultural Code, which is a part of the statutory provision

The defendant attempted to appeal from four other orders which are not appealable, and those appeals should be dismissed. The judgment and the order denying the defendant’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict are affirmed, and the appeals from the other orders are dismissed.

Griffin, J., and Mussell, J., concurred.

Appellant’s petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied May 27, 1958.