Collins v. Hudson, 48 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2001)

Cases | Collins v. Hudson, 48 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2001) | 2018

A police informant was murdered by the person against whom he informed after his identity was disclosed by law enforcement officials. The administratrix of the informant brought a wrongful death case against various parties including the county, the county sheriff’s office, and the county sheriff (“the appellants”). The administratrix appealed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment and the appellants cross-appealed, challenging the constitutionality of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 421.500. The appellate court held that though there was no liability under common law, the appellants had a statutory duty to inform the victim of the disclosure of his identity pursuant to § 421.500(4). On appeal, the appellants claimed that the statute did not impose liability on them. The court held that Section 9 of Chapter 212 of the Acts of the 1986 General Assembly as codified in Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 421.550 mistakenly omitted § 421.500 from “no-liability” provisions. As such, § 421.550 had to be read to include § 421.500 and no liability could be predicated on a violation of § 421.500(4).