Mustain v. Grand River Dam Authority

Summary

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that the Grand River Dam Authority's collection of dock-permit fees and miscellaneous rents did not constitute commercial activity sufficient to defeat immunity under the Recreational Land Use Act. The court also held that the Authority was a state agency covered by the Governmental Tort Claims Act, which superseded other statutory liability provisions and barred recovery based on alleged deliberate, willful, or malicious conduct by its employees. The court vacated the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion and affirmed the trial court's disposition insofar as consistent with its ruling.

Holdings

1. The Authority's collection of commercial- and private-dock permit fees and the evidentiary showing concerning miscellaneous rents did not constitute commercial or other for-profit activity connected to the public's presence on, or free recreational use of, the lake or park premises. The commercial-activity exception to Recreational Land Use Act immunity therefore did not apply.
2. The Grand River Dam Authority is a governmental entity and state agency encompassed within the Governmental Tort Claims Act.
3. Because the Authority is governed by the Governmental Tort Claims Act, Mustain could not recover against the Authority for injuries allegedly caused by deliberate, willful, or malicious conduct of its employees.
4. The Authority's statutory power to sue and be sued in tort did not create a broader waiver of immunity or displace the Governmental Tort Claims Act. The Act is the exclusive and comprehensive scheme governing the Authority's tort liability.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Grand River Dam Authority's collection of commercial- and private-dock permit fees and miscellaneous rents constituted commercial activity that triggered the Recreational Land Use Act's exception to immunity.
2. Whether the Grand River Dam Authority was a state agency governed by the Governmental Tort Claims Act.
3. Whether the Authority's alleged deliberate, willful, or malicious conduct placed its liability outside the Governmental Tort Claims Act despite statutory authority to sue and be sued in tort.

Disposition

vacated