The plaintiff was convicted of the felony of being a habitual motor vehicle offender and sentenced to a year in the Strafford County House of Correction, with all but 14 days to be spent in "Administrative Home Confinement" (AHC), meaning that he could live at home so long as he was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. There is a daily fee associated with the bracelet, which the prisoner is required to pay. Because he could not afford the daily fee, Chatman began participating in a work program under the control of Strafford County Community Corrections. His work assignment was to help clean up the grounds at the site of defendant Lee Country Fair, assisting in loading tables and chairs onto a trailer owned by defendant Brady. Chatman was injured during the work.
Chatman filed a lawsuit against the defendants alleging that Brady was negligent and that Lee Country Fair was vicariously liable for that negligence. The defendants moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that they were immune from liability under RSA 651:70, which protects from negligence claims persons or organizations who use the services of offenders performing public service as part of their sentence. The plaintiff argued that RSA 651:70 was not applicable because he was performing work pursuant to an AHC sentence, and neither the sentencing court nor the superintendent of the Strafford County jail had the authority to order "uncompensated public service" for his felony habitual offender conviction. The Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiff, and remanded the case for further proceedings.
While no municipality was directly involved in the case, many municipalities use the services of incarcerated persons. The case shows that it is crucial to understand the exact relationship between the organization sending the inmates to perform work and the municipality. Any agreement should be in writing, and the municipality should be clearly protected by its language against liability either by the direct application of an immunity statute, or by adequate insurance coverage. If there is any question about the terms of such an agreement, please call your insurer for a review of the agreement before the incarcerated persons come onsite to perform the work.