Schultz v. St. Clair County

The Illinois Supreme Court addressed governmental immunity in a case arising out of the alleged intentional or reckless refusal of a 911 operator to dispatch emergency services. The court held that local government defendants were not immune to suit under section 4-102 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act because the complaint was instead governed by the limited immunity provided by section 15.1(a) of the Emergency Telephone System Act. However, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint premised on wrongful death and survival by finding that the actions of the defendants were not a proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff under the condition/cause analysis. (ANNE M. BURKE, NEVILLE, OVERSTREET, and CARTER concurring. GARMAN and MICHAEL J. BURKE, specially concurring.)