(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether the city of Davenport and two employees should have immunity in the fatal collapse of an apartment building. The city’s attorney Jason O’Rourke argued the district court was wrong to say the immunity law doesn’t apply here. “The plaintiffs claims here revolve around the allegation that these employees knew the property should have been vacated but failed to do so. They allege that the defendants, the city defendants, failed to enforce the city’s ordinance to vacate the building,” he says. O’Rourke said there are only two cases where the Supreme Court’s previous decisions say that immunity does NOT apply.

“One the injury to the plaintiff was directly caused or inflicted by a third party or other independent force, and two, the plaintiff alleges a governmental entity or actor reached a unique governmental duty, usually, but not always, imposed by statute, rule, or ordinance, to protect the plaintiff from the third party or other independent force,” O’Rourke said. The attorney for those suing the city, Ryan Koopmans, argued this case is not covered by the immunity law.  “There is no jurisdiction to hear the public duty doctrine claim here. The public duty doctrine issue was briefed as kind of if qualified immunity does apply, then yes, you do peek into the merits and that was relevant.

If qualified immunity does not apply to common law claims which this Court has held, then you never get there,” he said. Koopmans says the city took control of the building under their ordinance and should be liable. “When they came in and said that this building needs to be vacated, they took control of the building effectively and they had a duty to act with care, and the most simple thing to do is to tell people to leave,” he said. Three people died and others were injured when the west wall of the building collapsed on May 28th, 2023. The Supreme Court will issue its ruling at a later date.