992394 Whitley v. Commonwealth 11/03/2000 In a wrongful death action, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment for defendants employed at a state facility charged with gross negligence

State: Virginia

Court: Supreme Court

Docket No: 992394

Case Date: 11/03/2000

Plaintiff: 992394 Whitley

Defendant: Commonwealth 11/03/2000 In a wrongful death action, the trial court did not err in granting summary

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MARY L. WHITLEY, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF JOSEPH H. JENKINS, DECEASED v. Record No. 992394 OPINION BY JUSTICE BARBARA MILANO KEENAN November 3, 2000

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, ET AL.

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF CHESAPEAKE V. Thomas Forehand, Jr., Judge

In this appeal of a judgment entered in a wrongful death action, we consider whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the defendants on the grounds of collateral estoppel and sovereign immunity. In March 1993, Mary L. Whitley, administrator of the estate of Joseph H. Jenkins, filed a motion for judgment against certain medical personnel (the individual defendants) at St. Brides Correctional Center (St. Brides) and against the Commonwealth. St. Brides is part of the Virginia Department of

Corrections and is operated and maintained by the Commonwealth. Whitley alleged that the "gross negligence" and "deliberate indifference" of the individual defendants, acting within the scope of their employment, caused Jenkins's death while he was incarcerated at St. Brides. Whitley further alleged that the

Commonwealth also was liable for Jenkins's death under the Virginia Tort Claims Act (Tort Claims Act), Code

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