In an arrestee's lawsuit claiming that an officer used excessive force against him during the arrest, the jury rejected the federal civil rights claim, while awarding the plaintiff $125,000 on an assertion that the officer was negligent under Maine state law in the use of force against him. The trial court reduced the award to $10,000, since a state statute limits the personal liability of a government employee to that amount as a maximum recovery. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the statutory limitation did not apply because the officer was covered by an insurance policy, resulting in the possibility of higher liability awards (of either $400,000 or the policy limit) for claims "against a governmental entity or an employee" under the statute. The federal appeals court certified to the Maine Supreme Court an unresolved issue of state law as to whether the higher liability limit only applied to claims against government employees in their official capacity, as opposed to those against them in their individual capacities. The Maine court must also rule on how to interpret a possible ambiguity in the insurance policy's coverage. Fortin v. Titcomb, #10-2370, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 1422 (1st Cir.).
      Liability for motorist's death in collision with police vehicle was limited, under Pennsylvania law, to statutory cap of $500,000 despite municipality's purchase of $1 million in liability insurance Mench v. Lower Saucon Twp, 632 A.2d 1011 (Pa/Cmwlth. 1993).