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Rothenberg v. State of Illinois

3 Ill. Ct. Cl. 27 Illinois Court of Claims Filed 1916-12-11
Disposition: denied
Cite as: Rothenberg v. State of Illinois, 3 Ill. Ct. Cl. 27 (1916)

SAMUEL ROTHENBERG, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF ISAAC L. ROTHENBERG, DECEASED v. STATE OF ILLINOIS.

Case summary

Claimant sought damages for the wrongful death of a child who drowned in a lagoon in Douglas Park, alleging the State was negligent in failing to provide guards or warnings. The court sustained the State's demurrer, holding that the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply to the State and that the State is not liable for the torts of its officers, agents, or employees.

Claim type: Wrongful Death

AI-generated summary from the opinion text — may contain errors. The opinion text and PDF above are the official record.

Headnotes

  1. RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR-doctrine of not applicable to State. The doctrine

RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR-doctrine of not applicable to State. The doctrine of respondeat superior is not applicable to the State, and the State is not liable for the torts of its officers, agents or employees. Schuyler, Ettelson and Weinfeld, for Claimant.

SAMUEL ROTHENBERG, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF ISAAC L.

ROTHENBERG, DECEASED

v.

STATE OF ILLINOIS.

Opinion filed December 11, 1916.

RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR-doctrine of not applicable to State. The doctrine of respondeat superior is not applicable to the State, and the State is not liable for the torts of its officers, agents or employees.

Schuyler, Ettelson and Weinfeld, for Claimant.

P. J. Lucey, Attorney General, for State.

Claimant seeks to recover for the death of Isaac L. Rothenberg, a child of tender years, who came to his death by drowning in the lagoon in Douglas Park in the City of Chicago, Illinois.

It is set forth in claimant's petition that the ice covering on the lagoon at that time was inviting to children; that the same was unsafe and that there were no guards, police officers or other attendants to warn children and keep them from going on the ice.

The State has filed a general and special demurrer to claimant's petition. One of the causes assigned by the special demurrer is that the doctrine of respondeat superior is not applicable to the State, and that the State is not liable for the torts of its officers, agents or employees.

This Court has repeatedly held that the doctrine of respondeat superior is not applicable to cases of this kind. The law is so well settled that it will be unnecessary to cite any authorities.

The demurrer is sustained.

Official volume 3 (Compiled and Reported by the Authority of the State of Illinois 1916)  ·  All opinions in this volume  ·  Also on CourtListener

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