Can a public employee be held liable for injuries sustained as a result of their actions?

section 820.2 provides: "Except as otherwise provided by statute, a public employee is not liable for an injury resulting from his act or omission where the act or omission was the result of the exercise of the discretion vested in him, whether or not such discretion be abused." This immunity is extended to public entities through Government Code section 815.2, subdivision (b), so that where the public employee is immune, the public entity is immune as well. (Elton v. County of Orange (1970) 3 Cal.App.3d 1053, 1056-1057.) Thus, appellants cannot prevail on their nuisance claim if the cause of the nuisance was an act or omission that occurred from a public employee's exercise of discretion. Since respondents have not briefed these issues, however, we decline to determine whether any of these potential defenses might be meritorious or sufficient to justify the court's order sustaining the demurrer, and instead leave them to be sorted out in the trial court in the usual course after remand.

The court erred in sustaining the demurrer with respect to a cause of action for nuisance.⁴