By Anthony Gockowski
MINNEAPOLIS – An Illinois insurance company sued the city of Minneapolis last week for its “negligence” during the George Floyd riots of 2020.
Illinois Casualty Company provides insurance policies to various businesses that were damaged during the riots and paid claims totaling over $5.6 million in the aftermath of the “civil unrest,” according to the lawsuit. The insured businesses are also listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed Jan. 17 in Hennepin County court.
The lawsuit leans heavily on an after-action report issued in March 2022 by an outside firm called Hillard Heintze at the city’s request. That report claimed that Mayor Jacob Frey failed to properly implement the city’s emergency operations plan (EOP), while now-retired Chief Medaria Arradondo and his leadership team neglected to “develop any formal crisis response plans.”
“The City, including the Mayor’s Office, the MPD, the MFD, and the [Office of Emergency Management], negligently failed to carry out the ministerial duties set forth in the Code of Ordinances, the EOP, and various other policies and procedures, which resulted in rioters, looters, and vandals roaming unimpeded through the City,” the lawsuit says.
It also says the city is “vicariously liable” for the actions of its police officers who were convicted of killing Floyd. Their actions, the lawsuit says, “were a direct cause of the civil unrest and resultant damage to the Insureds’ businesses.”
“The City’s negligence was a direct cause of the plaintiffs’ damages. The city is liable to the plaintiffs for their damages,” the lawsuit argues.
A spokesperson told Alpha News the city has been “served with the complaint and is evaluating its options.”
This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.
