Walsh v. State
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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the dismissal of Appellants' claims for defense and indemnification of a federal lawsuit from the State under the State Tort Claims Act, Minn. Stat. 3.736, subd. 9, holding that Appellants were not eligible for defense and indemnification under the Act.
After the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe sued Appellants - Mille Lacs County Attorney Joseph Walsh and Mille Lacs County Sheriff Don Lorge - in federal court Appellants sought indemnification and defense from the State. At issue was whether Appellants were "employees of the state" under the Act when the undertook the conduct that was the subject of the federal lawsuit. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) for purposes of defense and indemnification under the Act, county sheriffs generally do not act on behalf to the State when they enforce state criminal laws, and county attorneys generally do not act on behalf of the State when they prosecute state; and (2) Appellants were not acting on behalf of the State in an official capacity for purposes of defense and indemnification under the Act.
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