From Troutt v. The Bail Project, Inc., decided Friday by the Kentucky Court of Appeals (opinion by Judge Pamela Goodwine, joined by Judge Christopher McNeill):
On February 24, 2022, the Troutts filed a complaint against TBP alleging TBP was negligent in posting a bail bond for Michael DeWitt …, loss of consortium of their daughter, and punitive damages. The suit arose out of a fatal accident between DeWitt and the Troutts' daughter Madelynn. According to the complaint, DeWitt has a criminal history dating back to 2012. Relevant to this appeal, on February 16, 2021, DeWitt was arrested in Louisville and charged with receiving stolen property (motor vehicle), public intoxication (controlled substance), criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer resulting in physical injury.
On February 24, 2021, TBP posted a bond for DeWitt, and he was released from custody. Five days later, on March 1, 2021, DeWitt, while under the influence of amphetamines and benzodiazepines, drove a stolen vehicle and crossed the centerline of Dixie Highway in Jefferson County, causing a head-on collision with a vehicle driven by Madelynn, a 17-year-old. DeWitt was allegedly traveling 58 miles per hour one second before the impact, which occurred in a 45-mile-per-hour zone. Additionally, the Troutts alleged DeWitt was driving a stolen car containing six stolen guns. Tragically, Madelynn died at the hospital about forty-five minutes after the accident.
The Troutts claimed TBP was negligent in failing "to reasonably investigate DeWitt's criminal history and propensity to re-offend before posting his bail bond thereby permitting him to be released from jail." They also alleged TBP failed to comply with duties it undertook "to ensure DeWitt attended the drug rehabilitation program and other terms and conditions of bond," and "breached other duties of care not yet known" to the Troutts and other duties that "were the proximate cause" of the accident that resulted in Madelynn's death.
No, said the majority, because posting bail for someone doesn't create a duty to control his behavior:
