Brenda Estes, As Guardian and Next Friend for Jane Doe Missouri Cases

Brenda Estes, as next friend for Jane Doe, appealed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund (MOPERM) and its board of trustees. The trial court had found MOPERM immune from claims of bad faith failure to settle and breach of fiduciary duty based on sovereign immunity. The appellate court reversed, holding that MOPERM is not a public entity entitled to sovereign immunity and functions as a liability insurer with an implied duty to act in good faith. The court also concluded that MOPERM's enabling legislation does not prohibit Estes's claims or preclude them based on statutory payment limits.