Court Opinion

ID: 9676491
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:25:39.249292+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:48.919336
License: Public Domain

VENTERS, Justice,
Concurring:
I concur with Justice Scott’s opinion. At the risk of extending an already lengthy series of opinions, I submit that regardless of the immunity issue the Ap-pellee’s complaint does not state a claim for which relief may be granted. Its only basis for asserting liability is the claim that Appellants negligently “failed to expeditiously extinguish the fire” at Appellee’s business. We are informed by Appellee’s counsel at oral argument that the only act or omission of the Caneyville VFD deemed negligent by Appellees was that it lacked sufficient manpower and equipment to defeat the blaze. The same could be said of *813any fire department at any fire where property is damaged. There is no allegation that members of the Caneyville VFD caused any injury or damage to Appellee, beyond that damage caused by the fire. A fire department does not insure property owners from fire losses, and it has no duty to a property owner to save his property. The record before us consists of nothing more than the complaint, the motion to dismiss, the trial court’s ruling, and the appellate pleadings. No answer was even filed. We should not scrap the jural rights doctrine or undertake a major re-evaluation of governmental immunity on what I perceive is an insufficient claim and an exceedingly sparse record. A fire department is not liable for failing, due to its lack of equipment and manpower, to “expeditiously extinguish the fire.”