{"disclaimer":"This is a summary of public court records and is not legal advice. Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"the-honorable-joseph-alfred-rathert","displayName":"The Honorable Joseph Alfred Rathert","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"mo:sc98711:2021-06-15","opinionId":"86f21307-c00e-573c-a38c-0d05ab632b2b","slug":"state-ex-rel-officer-sergeant-dirk-helms-and-chief-joe-edwards-relators-v-c98711","caseName":"State ex rel. Officer Sergeant Dirk Helms and Chief Joe Edwards, Relators, vs. The Honorable Joseph Alfred Rathert, Respondent.","caseNumber":"SC98711","court":"mo","courtLabel":"Supreme Court of Missouri","decisionDate":"2021-06-15","year":2021,"display_summary":"Lonnie Decker filed a wrongful death petition against Sergeant Dirk Helms and Chief Joe Edwards, supervisors in the De Soto Police Department, alleging negligence in failing to adopt vehicular pursuit policies and train officers, which led to his daughter's death during a police pursuit. The circuit court denied their motions to dismiss based on official immunity and the public duty doctrine. The Missouri Supreme Court made its preliminary writ of prohibition permanent, holding that the supervisors' duties were discretionary, not ministerial, and therefore official immunity barred the claims against them.","primaryTopic":"governmental-immunity","topicSlugs":["governmental-immunity","civil-procedure","appellate-procedure","negligence","wrongful-death"],"outcomeNorm":"unknown","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=178034","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/state-ex-rel-officer-sergeant-dirk-helms-and-chief-joe-edwards-relators-v-c98711","relatedPracticeAreas":[{"slug":"personal-injury","label":"Personal Injury","href":"/practice-areas/personal-injury","score":32,"source":"tag","evidence":["tag: personal-injury","topic: negligence"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/personal-injury"},{"slug":"wrongful-death","label":"Wrongful Death","href":"/practice-areas/wrongful-death","score":12,"source":"topic","evidence":["topic: wrongful-death"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/wrongful-death"},{"slug":"litigation","label":"Civil Litigation","href":"/practice-areas/litigation","score":12,"source":"topic","evidence":["topic: civil-procedure","topic: appellate-procedure"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/litigation"}],"role":"respondent"}]}