Court reviews a GTLA claim against Berry Hill in a case involving a construction accident

JOHN DURLING KEMPER v. JOE C. BAKER, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS CAPACITY AS CITY MANAGER OF BERRY HILL, TENNESSEE ET AL.(Tenn. Ct. App. April 20, 2012)

This is a GTLA action against a city and city official following a construction accident in which an exterior wall of a building collapsed, causing serious injuries to one of the plaintiffs and causing the death of the other plaintiff. The building was being demolished and the plaintiffs were employed by a private company that was to disconnect gas utilities on the privately owned building.

The plaintiffs claim the collapse was caused, in part, by the failure of the city and the city manager to enforce certain OSHA regulations and provisions of the municipal building code. The trial court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against the city and the city official on the defendants’ motion for summary judgment based on governmental immunity. We affirm.

Opinion available at:
https://www.tba.org/sites/default/files/kemperj_042012.pdf