1. WCIA Executive Director City of Lakewood City Manager
Are You Exposed?
Ann Bennett
WCIA Executive Director
Rob Roscoe
WCIA Deputy Director
John Caulfied
City of Lakewood City Manager

2. What is Risk?
Any uncertainty about a future event that threatens an individual’s or organization’s ability to accomplish its mission

3. Why Worry? $51 million- Wrongful Termination/Discrimination
$63 million-Auto Liability (10 killed, five injured)
$750 million- Tree Hit Utility Electric Line ( 2 fatalities, 549 homes, 368 outbuildings,4 commercial properties, 44 structures)
$65.7 million- Auto Liability (brain damage)
$15 million- Police Excessive Force (1 killed)

4. Who Pays ?
Often with a large verdict/settlement it is a combination of the below
Entity Itself
Commercial Insurer
Self Insurance Risk Pool
Most risk pools use a level of self-funding and purchase commercial insurance above their self-funded layer

5. Coverage Every claim is analyzed for coverage
Who is being sued? What is the claimant/plaintiff alleging? What types of damage are they seeking? What is the date of loss?
What grants coverage and what takes it away?
Exclusions
Often can be starting point of analysis
Common Liability Exclusions
Intentional Acts
Fines, Penalties, Punitive Damages
Pollution, Nuclear Energy, War, Asbestos
Airports, Aircraft, Watercraft

6. Coverage Who does insurance cover? Other coverage
Look to definitions under coverage/insuring document
Employees, Volunteers, Elected Officials
Subject to the terms and conditions of the document
Other coverage
City Indemnification Ordinances
Covers Officials, Employees and Appointees
Often doesn’t cover fraud, actual malice or willful misconduct
Some cover punitive damages by act of governing body
With both the question is “are they in the course and scope of their duties?”

7. Public Entity Claims & Lawsuits
General Liability
Sidewalks, Road Design, Premises, Parks
Public Safety
Police, Fire & Jails
Excessive Force, Negligence, Civil Rights Violations
Land Use
Arbitrary Capricious, Due Process
Personnel
Harassment/Discrimination, Wrongful Termination

8. Public Entity Claims & Lawsuits
Negligence
Duty Owed, Breach of Duty, Proximate Cause, Damages as a Direct Result
Duty Owed-Standard of Care
Reflect normally accepted methods or practices of other persons or agencies performing the same activities
May be defined by internal policies and procedures
Breach of Duty
Notice of problem
Actual and Constructive
Knew or should have known

9. Public Entity Claims & Lawsuits
Litigation
Plaintiff brings action
Burden of proof on the plaintiff
Degree of proof is preponderance of the evidence
Judge and/or Jury decide liability and damages
Reservation of Rights are often asserted by the insurer when a suit is tendered and claims alleged may not be covered but a defense is needed.

10. Joint and Several Liability
Plaintiff is fault free
Two or more defendants are at fault parties
Plaintiff can seek payment of judgment from any defendant as long as they are at least 1% at fault
Road Design
Pursuits
Passengers & Children

11. Fee Shifting
Under certain statutes plaintiff attorneys can be awarded their fees and costs as prevailing party
Most often found in cases regarding police, personnel and land use
Multipliers can also be awarded by judge
Jury can find no, or nominal damages for plaintiff but fees still awarded
Intent is to encourage attorneys to take cases and provide legal recourse for injured parties

12. Wrongful Death New Legislation Regarding Wrongful Death
Allows parents to sue for wrongful death of adult children
Removes requirement that family members live in the United States
Expanded Damages
Non-economic damages also available where only economic damages were previously available
Retroactive and applied to all claims not time barred or pending in court on effective date of bill

13. Risk Management
The process of making and carrying out decisions that will minimize the negative affects of accidental loss upon the individual or organization
Risk Avoidance
Risk Retention
Risk Transfer

14. Exposures & Controls
Police
Source: Law 360

15. Exposures & Controls Police Civil Rights Negligence
Officers will be sued individually (Qualified Immunity)
Chief and City may have liability if ratify actions or have a custom policy and practice which violates rights
Fee Shifting
Negligence
Public Duty Doctrine?
Training and policies can assist in defense (or harm)

16. Exposures & Controls Police Interlocal Agreements (SWAT)
Pull all and review with City Attorney & Risk Pool
Language should be straight forward and unambiguous
Insurance, indemnification, claim/lawsuit handling
Equal sharing, each responsible for their own, hybrid??
Signed by Mayor or City Manager (not Chief)

17. Exposures & Controls Road Design
Duty to design and maintain roadways in a reasonably safe condition for ordinary travel
Do not “politically engineer”
Crosswalks, Signs, Speed Limits
Avoid promises, assurances and inflammatory statements
Autonomous vehicles, Bike/Scooter Ride Share are emerging exposures for roads

18. Exposures & Controls Personnel Harassment & Discrimination
Have a policy, know your policy, train on policy
Model zero tolerance, observe interactions in workplace
Can have personal liability
Social media

19. Questions?