The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a negligence lawsuit against the City of Nome and one of its emergency medical technicians. The opinion issued Friday comes after justices heard oral arguments for the case at Nome-Beltz Middle High School in front of students as part of the court’s educational outreach program, “Supreme Court LIVE.”
The case centered around a 2019 vehicle accident that occurred about 35 miles outside of Nome city limits. According to the opinion, Plaintiff John Rochon suffered serious injuries after being ejected from a vehicle and was later transported by emergency responders to the hospital.
Rochon alleged that the City of Nome and EMT Allen Wright were negligent in their rescue efforts. The opinion issued Friday said three EMTs held Rochon on a backboard, rather than securing him with straps. Rochon claimed this worsened his injuries as the ambulance navigated the 35 mile drive back to town on a gravel road.
The City and Wright argued that they were immune from liability under Alaska Statute 09.65.070(d)(4), which protects municipalities and their employees from lawsuits stemming from the “gratuitous extension of municipal services on an extraterritorial basis”, because the ambulance service was provided outside of city limits.
Rochon contended that because he was billed a total of $1,775, the service could not be considered “gratuitous” under the statute. However, the Supreme Court sided with the City, affirming that “gratuitous” in this context means services provided without legal obligation, not necessarily without cost.
Writing for the court, Chief Justice Susan Carney emphasized the legislative intent behind the statute, citing historical reluctance by municipalities to provide out-of-boundary services due to liability concerns.
“Defining ‘gratuitous’ as ‘without legal obligation’ is consistent with this legislative purpose to encourage municipalities to be Good Samaritans and provide services that they are not required to provide,” Carney wrote in the unanimous opinion. “Unless a municipality has entered a contract otherwise, it generally has no duty to provide emergency or other services beyond its borders.”
The court also upheld the superior court’s award of $16,133.25 in attorney’s fees to the City and Wright. The award was based on a pretrial offer of judgment the City and Wright made to Rochon for $7,500, which he declined. Because the final ruling resulted in no damages awarded to Rochon, the court found that the City and Wright were entitled to attorney’s fees under Alaska Civil Rule 68.
Rochon had also filed a separate lawsuit against another Nome resident, Jackie Reader, who he alleged had provided alcohol to an underage driver involved in the crash. That case was consolidated with the one against the City and Wright but was not addressed in this decision, as Reader did not appear in court and was not represented during the appeal.
The Alaska Supreme Court’s decision closes Rochon’s appeal and reaffirms the legal protections for municipalities providing emergency services outside their official boundaries — particularly when done voluntarily and without a specific legal mandate.
