Municipal Liability

A woman who was injured in an altercation with a Sparks firefighter has filed suit alleging battery and excessive force. Maureen Hvegholm filed suit against Timothy Egan in Washoe County District Court. The incident occurred last December and was captured on surveillance video.

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A lieutenant with the Baltimore City Fire Department has filed a race discrimination suit claiming he was subjected to unfounded disciplinary investigations and retaliation. Mitchell Waters filed suit today in US District Court for the District of Maryland.

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A firefighter with the CalFire has filed suit claiming he was subjected to harassment and retaliation by a supervisor, culminating is his being demoted from captain to firefighter II. Ken Meyers filed suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court naming CalFire and Battalion Chief Tim Main as defendants.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for May 1, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a suit brought by a woman who was injured by a fire hose being dragged by a Dallas fire truck; a suit by the former ...

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A woman who was injured by a hose being dragged by a Dallas fire truck has filed suit against the city and the driver. Doris Ann Wattley filed suit in Dallas County District Court naming the City of Dallas and firefighter Levon Douglas.

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Former Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael Washington has filed suit claiming his termination violated his right to due process and violated the city charter. The federal suit filed today names the city, Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long as defendants.

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Two Montclair, New Jersey fire officers have filed suit claiming their promotional system disadvantages Black firefighters. Captain Steven Marshalleck and Lieutenant Makkari Sampson filed suit in Essex County Superior Court naming Montclair Township; the Township manager, fire chief, and former HR director; Promotional Prep LLC; and an outside consultant.

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A Missouri fire chief who was fired in January has filed suit against a fire district and the district’s chairman alleging race discrimination and retaliation. Chief Ankeneth Corbin filed suit against the Black Jack Fire Protection District and Chairman David Calhoun.

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The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that a fire department cannot be held liable for the negligence of one of its firefighters through vicarious liability when the driver could not be held liable directly for negligence. The ruling clarifies a contentious issue in New York involving the interpretation of conflicting laws, and is largely viewed as a victory for fire departments.

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Three former Memphis firefighters are among those sued by the family of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by police officers. The suit was filed in federal court today by Nichol’s mother, RowVaughn Wells.

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Four lawsuits have been filed against the City of Everett by firefighters who claim they were sexually harassed by a fire academy instructor who is already being sued for sexual harassment. The four male firefighters filed separate suits in Snohomish County Superior Court claiming the city of failing to address harassment perpetrated by Chau Nguyen.

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The family of a Wyoming woman who died after a head-on collision in Utah, has filed suit against fire, EMS, life-flight and hospital agencies and 14 individual responders claiming her death was due to an injection of too much ketamine. Gwendolyn Doner, 19, of Casper, Wyoming, died in April of 2021.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for April 10, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit out of Oregon; an investigation by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue into a hidden bathroom cam; the granting of summary judgment ...

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Two female staff members of an Oregon fire district who were laid-off in February, 2023, have filed suit claiming the layoff was thinly-disguised retaliation for complaints they had made about sexual harassment and financial mismanagement. Jennifer Motherway and Anika Todd filed suit last week naming Columbia River Fire & Rescue.

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