House approves narrow duty-of-care carve-out for pursuits after court ruling

The Utah House on Feb. 4 approved House Bill 20, a narrowly tailored change to civil liability that limits an operator of an authorized emergency vehicle’s duty of care to a fleeing suspect when the operator acts within applicable pursuit policy and without intent to harm. Representative Dee, who sponsored the bill, told the House the change responds to a court decision and is not intended to provide blanket immunity for misconduct.

The bill was presented as a response to a court case the sponsor referenced as Tory v. State of Utah; the sponsor said the decision left an officer personally liable in a pursuit and that the Legislature intended to clarify that officers who act within policy should not face individual liability in those circumstances. Representative Dee said the measure does not remove remedies for innocent bystanders and does not shield conduct outside an agency’s pursuit policy.

Floor debate focused on where the line should be drawn between…