Sitton v. Dept. of Transportation

Under ORS 30.265(6)(a), public bodies, their officers, employees, and agents "acting within the scope of their employment or duties are immune from liability" for any injury or death claim covered by any workers' compensation law.

Plaintiff appealed a judgment dismissing his negligence claim.  Plaintiff assigned error to the trial court's grant of summary judgment because the outcome violated Article I, section 10 and 20 of the Oregon Constitution as well as the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  On appeal, Plaintiff argued that ORS 30.265(6)(a) violated the Oregon Constitution and Fourteenth Amendment by treating people who are covered by workers' compensation law differently than those who are not covered and had no rational basis for this disparate treatment. Plaintiff also argued that a later case altering the understanding of Article I, section 10 of the Oregon Constitution allowed him to raise the issue he had not raised in his opening brief.  In response, the State argued that the Plaintiff failed to raise the issue in a timely manner and that the State is immune from liability for the negligence claim.  Under ORS 30.265(6)(a), public bodies, their officers, employees, and agents "acting within the scope of their employment or duties are immune from liability" for any injury or death claim covered by any workers' compensation law.  The Court of Appeals held that prior case laws were contrary to Plaintiff's argument, and that Plaintiff was untimely in raising his argument.  Affirmed.