“Examining the ‘Free’ in Free Public Services Doctrine,” DRI For the Defense

“Municipalities provide emergency services to taxpayers using tax dollars. However, in the event of a large disaster, these services can quickly empty the coffers,” write Jonathan M. Bernstein, an attorney in Goldberg Segalla’s Municipal and Government Liability and Global Insurance Services Practice Groups, with co-author Aaron J. Aisen.

“When a private party voluntarily reimburses the community for those expenses, the municipality is grateful. However, a municipality has extremely limited ability to recover those costs through litigation.”

In this article, Jonathan and Aaron examine practical considerations for municipalities through analysis of a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in which a county in New York State attempted to sue to recover costs associated with the response to and cleanup of an airplane crash.

Read the article here:

• “Examining the ‘Free’ in Free Public Services Doctrine,” DRI For the Defense, July 2013