Meinck v. City of Gastonia
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In this personal injury case involving a building that a city owned but leased to a nonprofit arts group, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant, the City of Gastonia, based upon the doctrine of governmental immunity, holding that Defendant was entitled to governmental immunity under the circumstances of this case.
Plaintiff filed this complaint alleging that Defendant was negligent in failing to maintain its building’s exit in a reasonably safe condition and failing to warn of the dangerous and hazardous condition of the exit. The trial court granted summary judgment for Plaintiff, concluding that Defendant was entitled to governmental immunity. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that governmental immunity did not apply. The Supreme court reversed, holding that the trial court correctly determined that Defendant’s activity in leasing the property to the arts group was a governmental function, and therefore, Defendant was entitled to governmental immunity. The court remanded this case to address the issue of whether Defendant waived governmental immunity by purchasing liability insurance.
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