Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 51-162

employees - Punitive or exemplary damages - Privileges and

immunities not waived.

A. The state or any political subdivision, subject to

procedural requirements imposed by this section, other applicable

statute, ordinance, resolution, or written policy, shall:

1. Provide a defense for any employee as defined in Section 152

of this title when liability is sought for any violation of property

rights or any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the

Constitution or laws of the United States when alleged to have been

committed by the employee while acting within the scope of

employment;

2. Pay or cause to be paid any judgment entered in the courts

of the United States, the State of Oklahoma or any other state

against any employee or political subdivision or settlement agreed

to by the political subdivision entered against any employee, and

any costs or fees, for a violation of property rights or any rights,

privileges or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the

United States which occurred while the employee was acting within

the scope of employment. The maximum aggregate amount of

indemnification paid directly from funds of the state or any

political subdivision to or on behalf of any employee pursuant to

this section shall not exceed the maximum figures authorized by the

provisions of Section 154 of this title, regardless of the number of

persons who suffer damage, injury or death as a result of the

occurrence, unless, in the case of a political subdivision, the

political subdivision establishes higher limits by ordinance, if a

municipality, or, as to other political subdivisions, by resolution,

published as required by law; and

3. For any cause of action filed against an employee on or

after January 1, 1990, post or cause to be posted any supersedeas or

other bond ordered by the court.

B. 1. The state or a political subdivision shall not be

required to indemnify any employee of the state or a political

subdivision under the provisions of this section, unless the

employee is judicially determined to be entitled to such

indemnification and a final judgment therefor is entered. The

exclusive means of recovering indemnification from the state shall

be by filing an application for indemnification in the district

court of the county where venue is proper as provided for in

paragraph 2 of this subsection. The exclusive means of recovering

indemnification from a political subdivision shall be by filing an

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 51. Officers Page 115

application for indemnification in the trial court where the

judgment was entered. If the federal trial court cannot hear the

action, such application shall be filed in the district court of the

county where the situs of the municipality is located. Actions to

determine entitlement to indemnification shall be tried to the

court, sitting without a jury.

2. Venue for actions to determine entitlement to

indemnification from the state shall be in Oklahoma County, except

that a constitutional state agency, board or commission may, upon a

resolution being filed with the Secretary of State, designate

another situs for venue in lieu of Oklahoma County.

3. All applications for indemnification from the state or a

political subdivision shall be filed in the name of the real party

or parties in interest, and in no event shall any application be

presented nor recovery made under the right of subrogation.

Indemnification from the state as provided for in this subsection

shall extend only to acts or omissions occurring on or after January

1, 1984. The employee of the state or a political subdivision must

file an application for indemnification within thirty (30) days of

final judgment, or the right to seek indemnification shall be lost

forever.

4. In order to recover indemnification from the state or a

political subdivision pursuant to this subsection, the court shall

determine by a preponderance of the evidence that:
anuary

1, 1984. The employee of the state or a political subdivision must

file an application for indemnification within thirty (30) days of

final judgment, or the right to seek indemnification shall be lost

forever.

4. In order to recover indemnification from the state or a

political subdivision pursuant to this subsection, the court shall

determine by a preponderance of the evidence that:

a. the employee reasonably cooperated in good faith in

the defense of the action upon which the judgment or

settlement was awarded and for which indemnification

is sought;

b. the actions or omissions upon which such a judgment or

settlement has been rendered were not the result of

fraudulent conduct or corruption by the employee;

c. the employee, in committing the acts or omissions upon

which a judgment or settlement has been rendered was

acting in good faith and within any applicable written

administrative policies known to the employee at the

time of the omissions or acts alleged;

d. the employee was acting within the scope of employment

at the time that the acts or omissions upon which a

judgment or settlement has been rendered were

committed by the employee;

e. the acts or omissions of the employee upon which a

judgment or settlement has been rendered were not

motivated by invidious discriminatory animus directed

toward race, sex, or national origin; and

f. when punitive or exemplary damages are included in the

total award rendered against the employee of a

political subdivision, the indemnification amount

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 51. Officers Page 116

sought for fees and costs does not include amounts

attributable to the employee's defense against the

punitive or exemplary damages in accordance with

subsection D of this section.

5. a. Any indemnification judgment against the state under

this section shall be an encumbrance against otherwise

available unencumbered monies and unallocated

unencumbered monies in the appropriations of the

agency on whose behalf the employee to be indemnified

was acting at the time of the act or omission upon

which the judgment or settlement was awarded and for

which indemnification was sought.

b. If sufficient unencumbered monies or unallocated

unencumbered monies do not exist in the agency's

appropriations to pay the indemnification, the agency

shall make application to the Risk Management Division

of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services

for full payment of the indemnification out of the

Risk Management Revolving Fund established pursuant to

Section 85.58K of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Payment out of this fund shall be authorized if there

are sufficient monies greater than the sum total of

the then pending fund indemnification judgment

requests, and the reserves for future tort claims as

certified by the Director of Risk Management.

c. If sufficient monies do not exist in the Tort Claims

Liability Revolving Fund, the agency shall request the

Legislature to make an appropriation sufficient to pay

the indemnification.

d. Any indemnification judgment against a political

subdivision shall be paid as provided in Sections 361

through 365.6 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes and

Section 159 of this title.

C. The state or political subdivision shall have the right to

recover from an employee the amount expended by the state or

political subdivision to provide a defense, or pay a settlement

agreed to by the employee and the state or political subdivision, or

pay the final judgment, if it is shown that the employee's conduct

which gave rise to the action was fraudulent or corrupt or if the

employee fails to reasonably cooperate in good faith in defense of

the action.

D. The state or a political subdivision shall not, under any

circumstances, be responsible to pay or indemnify any employee for

any punitive or exemplary damages rendered against the employee, nor
judgment, if it is shown that the employee's conduct

which gave rise to the action was fraudulent or corrupt or if the

employee fails to reasonably cooperate in good faith in defense of

the action.

D. The state or a political subdivision shall not, under any

circumstances, be responsible to pay or indemnify any employee for

any punitive or exemplary damages rendered against the employee, nor

to pay for any defense, judgment, settlement, costs, or fees which

are paid or covered by any applicable policy or contract of

insurance. Where any civil rights judgment upon which

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 51. Officers Page 117

indemnification under subsection B of this section is applied for by

an employee of the state includes an award for both actual and

punitive or exemplary damages, the total amount of fees and costs

for which indemnification may be allowed shall be limited to the

percentage of fees and costs in the total award that the percentage

of the award of actual damages bears to the total judgment awarded.

It is the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the state or a

political subdivision may indemnify its employee for actual damages,

fees, and costs as provided herein in any case in which the findings

set out in paragraph B of this section have been determined.

E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any

immunities available to the state under the terms of the Eleventh

Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Any immunity or

other bar to a civil lawsuit under state or federal law shall remain

in effect. The fact that the state or a political subdivision may

relieve an employee from all judgments, settlements, costs, or fees

arising from the civil lawsuit shall not, under any circumstances,

be communicated to any trier of fact in the case of any trial by

jury.