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Keywords

tortplaintiffjurisdictiondepositionmotion

tortplaintiffmotion

Related Cases

Chadd v. United States, Not Reported in Fed. Supp., 2012 WL 12509209

Facts

The Plaintiff filed a claim against the United States after a fatal mountain goat attack in Olympic National Park. The court had previously dismissed the case, ruling that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction due to the discretionary function exception under the FTCA. The Plaintiff's claims regarding the park service's failure to respond to the attack were also dismissed. The Plaintiff then filed a Motion for Reconsideration, presenting new evidence including emails and depositions, arguing that the park service had failed to manage a hazardous animal appropriately.

Plaintiff filed this Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346, case against the United States stemming from a fatal mountain goat attack which occurred in Olympic National Park (“Olympic” or “the park”). Dkt. 1.

Issue

Did the court err in dismissing the Plaintiff's claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, particularly regarding the park service's management of a hazardous animal?

Rule

The discretionary function exception to the FTCA applies when the challenged actions involve an element of judgment or choice and that judgment is of the kind that the discretionary function was intended to shield, particularly decisions based on public policy.

The legal standard for whether the United States is immunized from suit under the discretionary function to the FTCA is in the prior order (Dkt. 63, at 10–11) and is adopted here.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether the new evidence presented by the Plaintiff demonstrated a manifest error in the prior ruling. It found that the evidence did not establish that the park service's actions were not discretionary or that they were required to take specific actions within a certain timeframe. The court reiterated that the implementation of government policy is shielded by the discretionary function exception when it implicates policy concerns.

Conclusion

The court denied the Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration and dismissed the case, concluding that there were no remaining claims.

The motion for reconsideration (Dkt.64) should be denied. There being no remaining claims, this case should be dismissed.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case because the court found that the Plaintiff did not demonstrate a manifest error in the prior ruling and that the park service's actions were protected under the discretionary function exception.

Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration (Dkt.64) should be denied. Plaintiff has failed to show a “manifest error in the prior ruling.”

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