Hughes

Michael Lewis Hughes, plaintiff, appeals a following an order granting defendant County of San Diego’s motion for nonsuit during a jury trial.

The record on appeal consists of the trial court’s order and this settled statement of facts:

Government Code section 844.6 provides: “(a) [A] public entity is not liable for: (1) An injury proximately caused by any prisoner. (2) An injury to any prisoner.

“(d) Nothing in this section exonerates a public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by his negligent or wrongful act or omission. ...”

Hughes contends Government Code section 844.6 is unconstitutional, denying him equal protection of the law. He argues the section irrationally distinguishes prisoners from non-prisoners.

Section 844.6 provides public entities with two immunities. The first is immunity to an action for damages proximately caused by a prisoner. The second is immunity in actions for injury where the plaintiff is a prisoner. The first immunity does not necessarily apply in this case. The prisoners’ acts of setting fire to the mattress were a cause of the injuries, but proximate causation involves other factors, and there has been no…