Kariniemi v. City of Rockford

Homeowners brought an action against a City alleging that the City’s non-employee City Engineer was negligent and caused a nuisance. The City Engineer performed the allegedly negligent acts under a contract with the City. The district court granted summary judgment to the City on the negligence claim based on vicarious official immunity but denied summary judgment on the nuisance claim, concluding that there were genuine issues of material fact for trial. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s conclusion that the City was entitled to vicarious official immunity for the negligent design claim but reversed the denial of summary judgment on the nuisance claim, concluding that vicarious official immunity applied to the nuisance claim because the alleged nuisance arose from the same immune conduct as the alleged negligence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the City was entitled to vicarious official immunity for both the Homeowners’ claims. View "Kariniemi v. City of Rockford" on Justia Law