Gooden v. County Commission of Webster County

HARSHBARGER, Justice:

This case is properly before the Court upon a certified question from the Circuit Court of Webster County, asking us to decide whether a county commission can be held liable in a tort action for personal injuries caused by negligence of its employees. The circuit court in denying the county commission’s motion to dismiss ruled that county commissions no longer have common-law governmental immunity. We affirm that decision.

Rachel Gooden brought this civil action alleging that she sustained personal injuries on March 21, 1980, when she stumbled and fell over a cinderblock…