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Federal judge dismisses Madison County from lawsuit over wheelchair crash; board acknowledges ruling
Summary
A federal judge dismissed Madison County from a lawsuit arising from a 2020 wheelchair crash on a county-agency bus, and the Board of Supervisors acknowledged the March 29 order at its April 7 meeting.
The Madison County Board of Supervisors on April 7 formally acknowledged a March 29 federal court order that dismissed Madison County from litigation brought by a plaintiff who was injured while aboard a Madison County Citizen Service Agency bus.
Board attorney Ms. Espy told the board the federal district judge, Henry Wingate, issued a 16-page order in a case styled Singleton v. Madison County and Madison County Citizen Service Agency. The order dismissed Madison County with prejudice after the court concluded the citizen service agency is a separate legal entity from the county for the purposes of the plaintiff’s claims.
Ms. Espy described the underlying facts as presented in the complaint: in 2020 a disabled passenger in a wheelchair boarded a citizen service agency bus that did not have the wheelchair secured; while traveling to a doctor’s appointment the wheelchair tipped and the passenger broke a leg. The original complaint named both the citizen service agency and Madison County.
Ms. Espy said the county moved for summary judgment on legal grounds, and after discovery the judge approved dismissal of the county with prejudice. The order addressed whether the county could be held vicariously liable for alleged torts of its separate agency and concluded the county should not remain a defendant in the suit under the facts and law presented.
Ms. Espy told the board the decision is “a case of first impression” for the court and noted that the ruling clarifies the legal boundaries between county government and certain county-affiliated agencies. She urged supervisors to review the order, which the board placed in the record.
Why it matters: The ruling narrows circumstances in which the county itself can be named liable for acts of separately constituted county agencies; it may affect how county officials manage oversight, budgets and legal risk going forward.
The board voted to acknowledge the order; the motion passed by voice vote.
