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County attorney: Missoula County served with wrongful-death lawsuit after December arrest
Summary
At the Dec. 4 administrative meeting, county legal counsel informed commissioners that Missoula County had been served with a wrongful-death complaint (Nicholas Michael v. Missoula County, DV 251096) arising from an arrest and subsequent death on Dec. 8; the county intends to defend and expects to file an answer within 21 days.
Missoula County legal counsel informed commissioners Dec. 4 that the county had been served with a wrongful-death lawsuit captioned Nicholas Michael v. Missoula County, DV 251096.
According to counsel, the complaint names three county staff members (the counsel said they were not aware those staff had been served yet) and alleges that Mr. Michael, who had been arrested and brought into the county facility in December, died on Dec. 8. Counsel said the autopsy showed Mr. Michael had a ruptured bag of methamphetamine in his stomach, which the complaint alleges contributed to his death. "Our office intends to defend the county," counsel said, and the counsel said the county intends to file an answer within 21 days and will provide a fuller update at the next litigation briefing.
Why it matters: a wrongful-death complaint against the county and named county staff raises potential liability and will move through litigation; the county's announcement signals intent to defend and triggers potential administrative follow-up for staff representation.
What’s next: county counsel said they expect to file an answer within the statutory period and to provide a more substantive litigation update at the next scheduled update.
