Public Policy & No Insurance Defeats Negligence Claim.

• Date: 24 January 2022
• Author: Zalma, Barry

* Leodis Sledge appealed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, et al on his claims of negligence that he asserted were the proximate cause of Leach's death on April 16, 2020.

FACTS

On April 12, 2020, a large line of severe thunderstorms containing straight-line winds and tornadoes passed through Arkansas, including Jefferson County, where Pine Bluff is located. As a result of these storms, Jefferson County was declared by the governor to be a disaster area. Pine Bluff suffered hundreds of uprooted trees as a result of the extreme winds, and more than 33,000 Entergy customers lost power as a result of the storms. One of the downed trees partially obstructed the road on Hutchison Street near Smart Street. From April 13 to April 16, there were several documented 911 calls regarding the downed tree as well as several records indicating that both the police department and the street department were notified of the downed tree. However, no officers remained on the scene of the downed tree, no barriers were erected around the tree, and the street was not closed.

On April 14, a motorist reported that he almost hit the tree and that it could not be seen until you were "right up on it." Early on the morning of April 16, 2020, Kelli Shavers hit the downed...