Kent v. City of Columbia Falls

¶64 In order to withstand a motion for summary judgment in a negligence action, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant owed her a legal duty. Debcon, Inc. v. City of Glasgow, 2001 MT 124, ¶ 29, 305 Mont. 391, 28 P.3d 478. Public and private defendants are dissimilarly situated for purposes of establishing legal duty. Unlike private parties, government touches nearly all aspects of organized life, and we expect the government to act to serve the community as a whole and not individual interests. “Juries and courts are ill-equipped to judge ‘considered legislative-executive decisions’…