Court of Appeals reverses trial court’s ruling that city of South Bend is not liable for pothole injury 

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s ruling that the city of South Bend should not be held liable for the injuries a man obtained after falling into a pothole in downtown South Bend two years ago.  

The Court of Appeals determined that the city failed to designate sufficient evidence to prove it was entitled to immunity under state law. 

Attorneys for the appellant and appellee did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment. 

In 2024, John Murphy, the St. Joseph County auditor, sued the city of South Bend after he stepped into a pothole during the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and broke his leg.

In his complaint, Murphy alleged that the city had “carelessly and negligently breached” its duty to keep the city’s streets and sidewalks in safe conditions for travel, according to court documents.  

The city filed a motion for summary judgment in response, arguing that it was immune from liability under Indiana Code section 34-13-3-3(a)(7), which states that a governmental entity is immune under the “performance of a discretionary function,” according to court documents. “Discretionary functions” include “deliberative, systemic process[es] to assess and prioritize street repairs,” according to the city’s memorandum in support of its motion.  

The city claimed that it uses a policy-driven process to inspect and repair streets based on a systematic assessment of road conditions. At the time Murphy was injured, the specific road the pothole was on was not in bad enough condition to warrant resurfacing under the city’s yearly road repair plan, according to court documents.  

Apart from pothole repairs made on an as-needed basis, the city has also mapped out a larger road repair plan, called the “Rebuilding Our Streets Plan,” that dictates schedules to repair and improve South Bend streets. According to that plan, that road was scheduled to be resurfaced the following year.

The St. Joseph County Circuit Court granted the city’s motion for summary judgment in January 2026, finding that the city’s repavement plan and its separate protocol for remedying potholes fell within its governmental immunity under Indiana Code.  

In Murphy’s appeal to the state appellate court, he argued that pothole repairs are a ministerial function, not a discretionary function. According to his brief, the city does a pre-parade inspection to ensure the parade route is safe. The pre-parade inspection is not part of the city’s ongoing “Rebuilding Our Streets Plan” but is instead routine operations work, which the city can’t claim for immunity. 

The city, in turn, argued in support of its immunity because repairs for the road were already in the planning process when Murphy was injured.

In its June 26 opinion, written by Judge Paul Felix, the appellate court said it “cannot determine from this record whether the failure to repair a pothole arose from a governmental entity’s judgment based on policy considerations.” According to the opinion, the court could not determine whether the pothole repair is part of the “Rebuilding Our Streets Plan” based on the evidence presented by the city. 

“Because the City cannot show that it is entitled to discretionary function immunity, it cannot establish that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law such that summary judgment would be appropriate,” Felix wrote. 

The appellate court reversed the trial court’s decision and remanded for further proceedings. Judges Leanna Weissman and Mary DeBoer concurred.

The case is John H. Murphy v. The City of South Bend, 26A-CT-94.