Reed v. City & County of San Francisco

[24]

SALSMAN, J.

Respondent’s demurrer to appellant’s first complaint was sustained without leave to amend. Judgment of dismissal was entered, followed by this appeal. The ground for dismissal was that appellant’s complaint did not state a cause of action.

Appellant sought damages for injuries allegedly received while he was an inmate at the San Francisco County Jail. His complaint alleged that another inmate, while performing services for respondent, negligently dropped a light bulb, which exploded and injured appellant.

Government Code section 844.6, subdivision (a) provides in relevant part that “. . . a public entity is not liable for: (1) An injury proximately caused by any prisoner. (2) An injury to any prisoner.”

1

Appellant concedes he has no cause of action if this section is constitutional. He contends, however, that it operates to deprive him of his constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process of law. We have concluded that this contention is without merit and that the judgment dismissing appellant’s complaint must be affirmed.

Section 844.6 is part of a comprehensive statute dealing with governmental tort liability. (Gov. Code, § 810 et seq., Stats. 1963, ch. 1681; cf.

Muskopf

v.

Corning Hospital Hist.,

55 Cal.2d 211, 218 [11 Cal.Rptr. 89, 359 P.2d 457].) The power of the Legislature to control such liability is very broad, and is limited only by the rule that it must not be exercised in an arbitrary manner.

(Flournoy

v.

State of California,

230 Cal.App.2d 520, 524-525 [41 Cal.Rptr. 190] and eases cited; Van Alstyne,

Governmental Tort Liability,

15 Stan.L.Rev. 163, 225-229.) Generally, a legislative classification is not arbitrary if a state of facts can be reasonably conceived to sustain it.