Minn. High Court Allows Nuisance Suit Against County, But Not Negligent Failure To Warn

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Neighbors of a municipal compost site can sue the county government for nuisance, but the county is vicariously immune from a negligent failure-to-warn claim, Minnesota's Supreme Court held on Feb. 26. Ralph Sletten, et al. v. Ramsey County, No. C2-01-1066 (Minn. Sup. Ct.).

By a 4-3 majority, the high court affirmed lower court rulings allowing nuisance claims by Ralph Sletten and other abutters of a Ramsey County (Minn.) waste site.

In a lawsuit filed in 1997, Sletten and members of two other families contend the county has consistently violated permit requirements and exposed them to …