Lawsuit over missed childbirth dismissed

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) – A father who said he was wrongfully detained by police and missed the birth of his child has lost his lawsuit against the City of Fergus Falls and two officers.

Otter Tail County District Court Judge Vicki Landwehr has approved a motion by the defendants for a summary judgment and ruled in favor of Fergus Falls and the officers. Landwehr said the officers’ actions didn’t rise to the level of malice.

“Whether or not there was a brief unlawful detention, defendants are entitled to qualified and official immunity,” Landwehr wrote in her recent ruling.

Dennis Fronning of Battle Lake was rushing his pregnant wife to Lake Region Healthcare hospital when he was stopped by the officers. His wife was taken the rest of the way by ambulance.

Fronning sued for damages greater than $50,000 in 2014, claiming mental pain and anguish, severe emotional trauma, embarrassment and humiliation, according to the Fergus Falls Journal (http://bit.ly/1Zw9Zcp ).

The lawsuit also claimed officers also detained him at the hospital and he was denied a chance to see the birth of his baby boy.

The defendants argued the officers acted lawfully and that any injuries or damages sustained by Fronning were the result of his own careless, negligent conduct.