Almost three years after a Columbia Fire Department lieutenant was killed while on duty, the University of Missouri Board of Curators and the man’s widow and daughter have agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
A hearing for approval of a settlement in the case is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in front of circuit Judge Jodie Asel. Leigh Britt, whose surname is now Kottwitz, sued the curators and other university officials after Lt. Bruce Britt died the morning of Feb. 22, 2014, when the balcony he was on at a university-owned apartment complex collapsed.
The confidential settlement was reached to “avoid expense, delay, and uncertainty of trial,” according to a joint motion for approval of the settlement.