Court drops CMS from lawsuit involving Covid-era bus crash

'Emergency management' provision results in end of lawsuit

The following article appeared in the Feb. 23, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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Appeals court says CMS can’t be sued for damage caused by a school bus that hit a car while delivering meals during Covid shutdown

(Photo by Joshua Hoehne/Unsplash)

A North Carolina appeals court reversed its own decision this week in a case involving a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus that collided with a parked car in Charlotte while delivering meals to families during the Covid school shutdown, saying CMS can’t be sued for the damage because the bus was acting in an emergency capacity. 

The state’s Emergency Management Act has provisions that protect school systems from lawsuits that could normally be filed, wrote Judge Jeff Carpenter in the decision.