Raleigh asks judge to dismiss city from Hailey Brooks parade-death lawsuit

A Wake County judge heard arguments Wednesday on the city of Raleigh’s request to dismiss it and two city employees from the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Hailey Brooks, the 11-year-old girl killed in the Raleigh Christmas Parade in 2022.

Judge Bryan Collins did not rule on the dismissal motion Wednesday, saying he needs time to review both sides’ arguments.

How did we get here?

Landen Glass, who was driving a pickup truck in the parade, struck and killed Brooks and pleaded guilty last year to charges in her death.

Brooks’ family targeted Shop Local Raleigh, which organized the parade, Glass, the city and others in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Since filing the lawsuit, the family has settled with several parties, including Glass and a parade float company.

The city and both employees involved in the suit made their dismissal motions in 2025, according to court documents.

If the judge does not grant the city’s motion, the suit will proceed against the city, two city event planners and Shop Local Raleigh in a jury trial currently scheduled for November.

What Raleigh’s lawyers are saying

Attorneys from the city argued Monday that the city was operating with governmental immunity at the parade where Brooks was killed, according to ABC 11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.

Planning for safety and crowd control is a government duty, and governments are traditionally immune from many lawsuits when executing a governmental function, the city’s attorneys argued.

Raleigh aims to prevent events like parades from negatively impacting the general public, said Hunt Choi, an attorney for the city.

The Brooks family is also suing Whitney Schoenfeld, the city’s senior manager in its Office of Special Events, and Kirk Archer II, a special events planner with the city in 2022 who now works for the city of Durham.

Attorneys for both the individuals are asking Collins to dismiss them from the lawsuit, arguing that they were only acting in their capacity as city employees, not at their own discretion.

“Discretion” in this case would refer to Schoenfeld or Archer acting outside the scope of their instructions as city employees. Their attorneys argue they only followed the city’s instructions, meaning they can’t be sued.

What the Brooks family’s lawyers are saying

The hearing on the dismissal was paused on Monday after lawyers for the city presented their arguments.

It resumed Wednesday, with attorneys for the Brooks family challenging the arguments made by the city’s legal team.

Planning for the parade was outside the city’s usual scope of duties because it went beyond just permitting the parade, said Jason Miller, an attorney for the Brooks family.

The city by ordinance requires permits for large events, Miller said. But the city went beyond what its ordinance requires by helping to plan for the parade and taking point on security measures despite the fact that Shop Local Raleigh was the official organizer, he said.

Miller argued that a vehicle hitting a child is a foreseeable danger in a parade with vehicles. Because Raleigh police took on the role of event security, they should have been thinking about that possibility, he said

The city has argued that Raleigh police, who provided the security for the parade, were focused on outside threats, like “terrorism-type incidents,” Choi said.

Miller said dismissing the city from the suit would prevent Brooks’ family from getting justice.

“The family is entitled to its day in court,” he said.

Even if the city, Schoenfeld and Archer are dismissed from the suit, Shop Local Raleigh would remain a defendant.

This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM.

Nolan Wilkinson

The News & Observer