A judge ruled Sunday, June 22, that a North Dakota county can’t hide behind governmental immunity to block a wrongful death lawsuit — clearing the way for the civil case to proceed.
The ruling strips the county of what’s typically a powerful early defense. Governmental immunity, when it holds, can end a lawsuit before any evidence is weighed. It didn’t hold here.
The immunity question
Counties in North Dakota, like other government entities, can invoke sovereign immunity to argue they shouldn’t be subject to certain civil claims. Plaintiffs in wrongful death cases often face that wall before a trial ever gets scheduled.
The judge rejected that argument. The county’s bid to have the case thrown out on immunity grounds failed, and the wrongful death suit now moves into the next phase of litigation.
The county has not publicly said whether it plans to appeal the ruling. No trial date has been announced.
