Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson Cnty. Metro. Sewer Dist., 346 S.W.2d 754 (Ky. Ct. App. 1961). · Go Syfert
Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson Cnty. Metro. Sewer Dist., 346 S.W.2d 754 (Ky. Ct. App. 1961). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
51 citation events (6 in the last 25 years) across 3 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Garrison v. Leahy-Auer (kyctapp, 2006-05-26)
Treatment trajectory · 1965 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1965 1995 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 5 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Garrison v. Leahy-Auer
Ky. Ct. App. · 2006 · confidence medium
The Supreme Court of Kentucky in Kentucky Center for the Arts Corp. v. Berns, 801 S.W.2d 327, 331-32 (Ky.1991) (quoting Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson Co. Metropolitan Sewer District, 346 S.W.2d 754, 755 (Ky.1961)) stated that an entity is a state agency if it is " 'under the direction and control of the central state government^]' ” " ‘supported by monies which are disbursed by authority of the Commissioner of Finance out of the State treasure[;]’ " and thus, "when viewed as a whole, the entity is carrying out a function integral to state government.” In Bems, it was found that the Ke…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Board of Claims v. Banks
Ky. Ct. App. · 2000 · confidence medium
In its blanket order resolving the issue, the Board stated that it was aware of the aforementioned language in Malone but that it could not infer from the language that the supreme court had overruled its holdings to the contrary in Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Ky., 346 S.W.2d 754, 755 (1961), and Board of Education of Rockcastle County v. Kirby, Ky., 926 S.W.2d 455, 456 (1996).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Lisack v. Natural Resources & Environmental Protection Cabinet
Ky. Ct. App. · 1992 · confidence medium
We see nothing in the Environmental Protection Cabinet’s organization and funding to indicate that it is anything but a state agency “under the direction and control of the central State government and ... supported by monies which are disbursed by authority of the Commissioner of Finance out of the State treasury.” Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer Dist., Ky., 346 S.W.2d 754, 755 (1961).
discussed Cited "see" Calvert Investments, Inc. v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (2×)
Ky. · 1991 · signal: see · confidence high
See Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Ky., 346 S.W.2d 754 ." Id. at 638.
cited Cited "see" Stephenson v. Louisville & Jefferson County Board of Health
Ky. Ct. App. · 1965 · signal: see · confidence high
See Gnau v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Ky., 346 S.W.2d 754 .
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Norman Thomas GNAU Et Al., Appellants,
v.
LOUISVILLE & JEFFERSON COUNTY METROPOLITAN SEWER DISTRICT, Appellee
Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976).
May 19, 1961.
346 S.W.2d 754
Philip P. Ardery, Brown, Ardery, Todd & Dudley, Herbert C. Howard, Miller & Howard, Louisville, for appellants., Blakey Helm, James Goslee Becker, Louisville, for appellee.
Williams.
Cited by 29 opinions  |  Published
WILLIAMS, Judge.

The appellant, Norman Thomas Gnau, filed a tort proceeding in the Board of Claims against the Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District. The Board dismissed the proceeding on the ground it had no jurisdiction over the ap-pellee. Appeal to the Jefferson Circuit Court resulted in an affirmance of the decision of the Board.

By statute, the Commonwealth’s immunity from liability for injury occasioned by its negligence has been waived to a limited extent. KRS 44.070 vests authority in the Board of Claims to “investigate, hear proof, and to compensate persons for damages sustained to either person or property as a proximate result of negligence on the part of the Commonwealth, any of its departments or agencies, or any of its officers, agents or employees while acting within the scope of their employment by the Commonwealth or any of its departments or agencies; * * *” KRS 44.100 provides that all awards and cost of operation assessed by the Board shall be paid out of a State Fund, upon warrants drawn by the Commissioner of Finance upon the State Treasurer.

The Sewer District was created under the authority of Chapter 76 of Kentucky Revised Statutes. It is “a public body corporate, and political subdivision, with power to adopt, use and alter at its pleasure a corporate seal, sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, and in other ways to act as a natural person, within the purview of this chapter.” KRS 76.010.

In Fawbush v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Ky., 240 S.W.2d 622, 624, this Court held that the Sewer District is not liable for torts committed by its servants while acting within the scope of their employment. We[*755] said that the Sewer District is an independent public corporation; autonomous and economically self-sustaining, and that it is performing a governmental function in the preservation and promotion of public health. We recognized that the Sewer District is ‘an agency of the State and thus cloaked with immunity from liability for injury occasioned by negligent acts of its servants. In referring to the Sewer District as an agency of the State it should not be implied that such District is a State agency as the term is employed in KRS 44.070. The use of the phrase “agency of the state” merely describes a public agency and technically does not mean an arm or branch of the central State government. As is apparent from the above-quoted sections of the statute the waiver of immunity attaches only to those agencies which are under the direction and control of the central State government and are supported by monies which are disbursed by authority of the Commissioner of Finance out of the State treasury. The Sewer District, although a public agency performing a governmental function and thus entitled to immunity from liability for its negligence, is not one of the branches of the government which is included in the waiver by the subject statute. Until the Legislature sees fit to waive immunity for public agencies other than those directly administered by the central State government, then such immunity will continue for all such public agencies performing a governmental function of the sovereign.

We agree with the opinion of the lower court, which states as follows:

“ * * * The Metropolitan Sewer District is an independent and autonomous public corporation exercising a function of the state government and is among that numerous group each separately created for a variety of purposes ranging from a small road district to a city of the first class. They are all indeed agencies of the State in that they perform the particular governmental duties delegated to them, but at the same time they are fairly insulated from the day to day control of the central state government and, on the other hand, the state treasury, from which this claim is sought to be paid under the statute here, is fairly insulated from the demands made upon these public corporations. The historical background of this statute, including the special acts consenting from time to time to suits by individuals against the state, have always been concerned with departments of the central state government. If it were the intention of the Legislature to withdraw the existing common law immunity from suit of these independent corporations exercising public functions, the language of the statute would of necessity be more inclusive and more explicit than that here under consideration.”

The judgment is affirmed.