JONESBORO, Ark. — The Arkansas Court of Appeals has ruled that damages in a lawsuit stemming from a 2017 crash involving a Jonesboro police officer are limited to $50,000, reversing a lower court decision that would have allowed claims to proceed against the officer personally.
The case centers on a May 3, 2017 crash at the intersection of Flint Street and West Huntington Avenue involving a patrol car driven by Jonesboro Police Department officer Michael Talley and a vehicle carrying three members of the Johnson family.
According to court records, Talley was driving south on Flint Street when his patrol car entered the intersection and collided with a Toyota RAV4 traveling west on West Huntington. The crash caused significant injuries to the occupants of the SUV.
Carolyn Johnson suffered a broken wrist and fractured ribs, while Michael Johnson sustained a fractured ankle. A third passenger, Haley Johnson — now Haley Johnson Boyd — suffered a spinal fracture that left her paralyzed.
The Johnson family filed a lawsuit in 2019 against Talley and the City of Jonesboro alleging negligence. They later amended their complaint to argue Talley’s conduct amounted to felony battery and aggravated assault, seeking more than $10 million in damages.
The city acknowledged the crash and offered to pay $50,000, which represents the statutory minimum liability coverage required for municipal vehicles under Arkansas law. City officials asked the court to accept that payment and dismiss the case based on governmental immunity.
A trial court previously allowed the case to continue against Talley personally, finding a jury should decide whether his actions rose to the level of intentional conduct outside the scope of his employment.
However, the Arkansas Court of Appeals disagreed.
See More: Court of Appeals Decision
In the opinion delivered by Judge Kenneth S. Hixson, the court ruled that the allegations in the lawsuit described reckless or negligent conduct — such as driving too fast and being distracted by a phone — but did not amount to intentional actions that would remove statutory immunity.
Under Arkansas law, cities and their employees are generally immune from civil liability except to the extent they are covered by insurance. In cases involving municipal vehicles, the combined liability of the city and its employees is capped at the minimum coverage required under the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, which is $50,000.
Because Talley was on duty and operating his patrol car within the scope of his employment when the crash occurred, the court ruled that immunity applied.
The appellate court concluded that the Johnson family’s recovery is limited to the $50,000 already offered by the city and ordered that Talley be dismissed from the lawsuit.
The decision reverses the trial court’s earlier ruling that had allowed the case to proceed against Talley individually.
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