COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a lower court's refusal to grant the City of Youngstown immunity in a wrongful death lawsuit. The ruling allows the case, filed by Cheryl Durig, the executor of the estate of Thomas Morar, to move forward.

Morar was seriously injured in June 2017 when a tree allegedly owned by the city fell on him while he was riding his motorcycle on an East Side street. He died in April 2019 at the age of 80. The lawsuit claims negligence and seeks $5 million in damages.

The core issue before the Supreme Court was whether the city could invoke political-subdivision immunity, a defense that often shields municipalities from liability. The court ruled that the city had waived this defense.

In its initial response to the 2019 lawsuit, the city

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