A routine check of public records this week showed that the City of Lubbock responded to a lawsuit filed by the family of Morgan Lee, 20, of Abilene who died in a traffic accident in August 2014.
Lee was turning at Clovis Road and Loop 289 when her car was hit by a Lubbock Police Department Patrol Unit. In late April of 2015, Lee’s family filed a lawsuit for up to $1 million.
The lawsuit identified the officer as Cody D. Kidd, and claimed Kidd was traveling at a high rate of speed while responding to a police call. The lawsuit claimed Kidd did not use red lights and siren.
The city’s written response to the lawsuit was filed on May 21, saying, “Its driver was reacting to an emergency situation or emergency call and … he did not act with conscious indifference or in reckless disregard for the safety of others.”
“[The city] would show that Plaintiff’s damages should be limited to the medical and/or health care expenses actually incurred or paid,” the response also said. “[The city] affirmatively asserts that Plaintiffs’ damages were due to her own negligence, failure to exercise ordinary care, and failure to yield the right-of-way at the intersection.”
The city’s response also said “damages are limited to $250,000” by state law. In the last sentence of the response, the city asked a judge to rule against the Lee family.
Lee was an incoming freshman at Texas Tech at the time of her death.
