summary judgment in favor of a municipality in a case in which two subcontractors died while working on a water line project

PAT FLANAGAN (Charlotte) and RYAN BOLICK (Charlotte) obtained summary judgment in favor of a municipality in a case in which two subcontractors died while working on a water line project owned by the municipality. The estates of the subcontractors filed claims for wrongful death alleging that the municipality was negligent in failing to follow appropriate safety procedures and standards and that the municipality was strictly liable under Chapter 143 of the North Carolina General Statutes due to its alleged failure to discover underground storage tanks near the site of the subcontractors’ deaths. Prior to the dismissal of these claims, plaintiffs’ counsel sought damages in this suit in excess of $10 million.