Oklahoma Statutes

Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 4 (2026)

County to sue or be sued in name of board

✓ current as of July 2026
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In all suits or proceedings by or against a county, the name in which a county shall sue or be sued shall be, "Board of County Commissioners of the County of _____," but this provision shall not prevent county officers, where authorized by law, from suing in

their official name for the benefit of the county. Suit may be brought against a county by naming a county officer identified in Section 161 of this title when it is alleged that such officer in his or her official capacity is directly or vicariously liable to plaintiff in an action not arising out of contract. Otherwise, suit may be brought against a county by naming the Board of County Commissioners of the County of _____; in actions against the Board not arising out of contract, upon motion, the Court may substitute a county officer identified in Section 161 of this title in his or her official capacity for the Board upon a showing that such county officer is better suited to represent and defend the county under the particular facts of the case. R.L. 1910, § 1500. Amended by Laws 2019, c. 171, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1962–2025 · leading case: Goss v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 645 F. App'x 785 (10th Cir. 2016).
Goss v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 645 F. App'x 785 (10th Cir. 2016). “Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 4 (2015); Green Constr.”
Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners v. Amarillo Hosp. Dist., 835 S.W.2d 115 (Tex. App. 1992). “We note that Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 19, § 4 (West 1988) apparently is the statute that requires such styling of a case and Okla.”
Gaines v. Pearson, 516 F. App'x 724 (10th Cir. 2013). “As for Muskogee County, Plaintiff failed to properly name Muskogee County according to the statutory requirements of Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 4 . Further, the county is immune from any state law tort claims.”
Hillcrest Med. Ctr. v. State Ex Rel. Dep't of Corr., 675 P.2d 432 (Okla. 1983). “Hillcrest obviously has standing to assert these rights, and according to 19 O.S.1981 § 4, the Board of County Commissioners is the name in which a county is properly sued.”
State Ex Rel. Dep't of Highways v. McKnight, 496 P.2d 775 (Okla. 1972). “McKnight, an individual doing business as McKnight Construction Company, as plaintiff, sought a money judgment against LeFlore County, Oklahoma (properly designated therein, pursuant to 19 O.S.1961 § 4, as the Board of County Commissioners of LeFlore County, Oklahoma), J.”
Cnty. of Okmulgee ex rel. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 368 P.2d 502 (Okla. 1962). “” At all stages of this proceeding defendant was represented by the County Attorney of Ok-mulgee County. The notice that was issued in connection with the filing of the petition was served on the County Clerk of Okmulgee County.”
State Ex Rel. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 829 P.2d 961 (Okla. 1992). “On behalf of Oklahoma Memorial Hospital and other medical care providers, DHS filed a petition against McClain County pursuant to 19 O.S.1981, § 4, to compel the County to pay for the medical services rendered.”
Johnson v. McAdoo, 150 F.R.D. 684 (W.D. Okla. 1993). “Okla.Stat. tit. 19, § 4. If plaintiffs intention was to hold the county liable for the alleged misconduct of McAdoo as county assessor, counsels’ legal inquiry was incomplete in failing to determine the proper legal entity against whom to file the complaint.”
Holbert v. Cimarron Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't (W.D. Okla. 2021). · cites it 3× “In response, the Plaintiff argues that the Board is a proper defendant because the Board may be a named party in a suit against a county, and the County here is a proper defendant under Okla. Stat. tit. 19 § 4 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 .”
Pasqualetti v. Johnson (W.D. Okla. 2021). · cites it 3× “The Board argues that, under 19 O.S. § 4, the proper defendant for this purpose is not the Board but a county official named in his official capacity.”
Bd. of Cty. Com'rs of Cty. of Okl. v. Weatherford, 565 P.2d 35 (Okla. 1977). “1971, § 77) and State Industrial Court Rule 8, by registered notice to hospital, hence review proceeding should be dismissed because award became final 20 days after December 6, 1976.”
Bentley v. Cleveland Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners ex rel. Cleveland Cnty., 41 F.3d 600 (10th Cir. 1994). “Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 4 (1988). . Unless otherwise noted, any reference in this opinion to the "County” is a general reference to all of the defendants in this action.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.