County Attorney Jim Clevenger told the County Commissioners last week that a lawsuit was filed in Marshall Circuit Court against both Marshall and St. Joe Dispatch and Dispatchers that were working on the day that 4-year-old Tennessee Kate Leed of Argos died of drowning near the Marshall/St. Joe County line.
Attorney Clevenger said the initial call on June 22, 2022, went to the St. Joe County 911 Center instead of Marshall County’s 911 Center. GIE assigned Betty Knight’s office to provide the county’s defense.
Clevenger said the complaint includes a claim for punitive damages that is not covered by the county’s liability policy, so he received the standard letter of reservation from GIE.
The Saint Joe insurance carrier hired Peter Agostino in South Bend and he is trying to move the case from Marshall County to federal court in South Bend because some of the claims are based upon federal civil rights violations.
As is always the case, GIE requested that county officials not discuss the case except with their lawyers.
