Opinion

Fabrey v. McDonald Village Police Department

  • 70 Ohio St. 3d 351
  • 639 N.E.2d 31
Court
Ohio Supreme Court
Filed
Sep 28, 1994
Status
Published
Author
Pfeifer
On the bench
Douglas, Moyer, Pfeifer, Resnick, Sweeney, Wright
Cited by
373 cases
Authority
More cited than 15.2%

holding that because the General Assembly has the power to define the contours of the state’s liability, within the constraints of equal protection and due process, the right to sue the state is not fundamental

How later courts described this case

  • holding that because the General Assembly has the power to define the contours of the state’s liability, within the constraints of equal protection and due process, the right to sue the state is not fundamental
  • holding that a police chief’s failure to maintain certain safety devices, which resulted in a police officer’s injury when a prisoner set fire to his mattress, did not constitute wanton conduct
  • holding that O.R.C. § 2744 did not violate the due process and equal protection provisions of the Ohio and United States Constitutions, or the right to remedy provision of the Ohio Constitution
  • finding that Article I, Section 16 of the Ohio Constitution does not endow citizens with the fundamental right to sue political subdivisions

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

Pfeifer, J.,

dissenting. For the reasons stated in my concurrence in Garrett v. Sandusky (1993), 68 Ohio St.3d 139, 142 , 624 N.E.2d 704, 707 , it is contrary to Section 16, Article I of the Ohio Constitution to hold that a governmental entity is immune from suit simply by virtue of its status as sovereign.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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