William McClellan and Racquel McClellan, Individually and as Next Friend for Minor Child, R.B.
v.
Pablo Orlando Ramirez, and the City of Dubuque, Iowa
Appellant
William McClellan and Racquel McClellan, Individually and as Next Friend for Minor Child, R.B.
Appellee
Pablo Orlando Ramirez, and the City of Dubuque, Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
David A. O'Brien
Attorney for the Appellee
Les V. Reddick and Todd L. Stevenson
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica Zrinyi Wittig, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Tabor, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, J. (8 pages)
William McClellan and Racquel McClellan appeal the district court order entering summary judgment in favor of the defendants on their claim for damages arising from a collision with a police vehicle. OPINION HOLDS: While we agree that the undisputed facts show the police officer was responding to an emergency at the time of the collision, the district court erred in applying the recklessness standard in determining the defendants are immune from liability. The officer’s vehicle’s lights and siren were off at the time of the collision, therefore, by the plain language of Iowa Code section 321.231(4) (2016), he was not privileged to disobey applicable traffic laws. He is therefore held to a standard of negligence, as any other driver on the road. The district court erred in holding otherwise. Summary judgment on the question of Officer Ramirez’s negligence is premature, particularly in view of the undeveloped record presented. Therefore, we reverse the order granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants and remand to the district court.
