Ma

I.

Introduction

Appellants Yong Shao Ma (Ma) and Pui Kay Chan (Chan) appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of respondent City and County of San Francisco (CCSF). Ma and Chan are the surviving husband and father, respectively, of Angelique Chan, who died from an acute asthma attack on the evening of August 27, 1998. Sometime before her death, a call was made to CCSF’s 911 medical emergency service, reporting that Ms. Chan was complaining of severe physical distress. In their subsequent civil action for damages, Ma and Chan claimed that CCSF owed a tort duty to callers utilizing its 911 emergency service. They alleged further that this duty was breached both because the 911 dispatcher/call-taker on duty that evening was untrained in the emergency response protocols established by CCSF, and that the dispatcher was negligent in failing to respond to the emergency call in compliance with these protocols.

In its motion for summary judgment, CCSF contended that it owed no tort duty of care to Ms. Chan or, alternatively, that if a duty was owed, the so-called “discretionary immunity” provided at Government Code section 820.2 applied to bar the claim. The trial court…