Gibson v. United States
Gibson v. United States
Opinion of the Court
RULING
This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mr. Gibson and his brother own Gibson . Brothers, a business that subcontracted with FEMA to activate
On November 1, 2010, approximately one month after Gibson Brothers’ subcontract with FEMA had expired, Mr. Gibson visited the premises of a FEMA facility located on Sherwood Forest Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This lot contains many formerly-occupied FEMA trailers distributed by FEMA after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The purpose of this visit was for Mr. Gibson to inspect a particular mobile home
While at this facility, Mr. Gibson claims he was supervised and accompanied by FEMA employee Joan Johnson (“Johnson”), who was charged with assisting potential customers around the facility as they evaluated the trailers available for purchase. Mr. Gibson inspected four or five trailers on this date that had only an open door several feet above the ground with no set of pull-out steps for access. Mr. Gibson further claims that, despite being a man of nearly 400 pounds, Johnson retrieved an aluminum stepladder from her vehicle for Gibson to use when entering and exiting these trailers.
Next, Mr. Gibson claims that, upon completing his inspection of the last trailer/mobile home, he attempted to exit by descending the ladder. Mr. Gibson contends that he tried to get Johnson’s attention so she could come hold the ladder for him, but she was some distance away on her cell phone. Mr. Gibson alleges that he held on to the door frame of the trailer
Johnson’s account of this incident differs somewhat from Mr. Gibson’s. Johnson testified that Mr. Gibson used a two-step stool to gain access to the first few trailers he inspected, and then he asked for the ladder after seeing it in her vehicle.
Johnson contends that, as he lay on the ground, Mr. Gibson yelled out that he thought his leg was broken. According to Johnson, she immediately called for assistance, and several FEMA employees arrived to help and assist in transferring Mr. Gibson into an ambulance.
The Government has moved for summary judgment arguing that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA applies to the conduct alleged in this case such that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this lawsuit.
II. LAW AND ANALYSIS
A. Summary Judgment Standard
Summary judgment should be granted if the record, taken as a whole, “together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
If the moving party meets this burden, Rule 56(c) requires the nonmovant to go beyond the pleadings and show by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, or other admissible evidence that specific facts exist over which there is a genuine issue for trial.
B. Discretionary Function Exception
As the sovereign, the United States is immune from suit, except to the extent that it has waived its immunity and has consented to be sued.
Whether the discretionary function exception applies involves a two-part
On the other hand, if there was room for judgment or choice in the decision made, then the challenged conduct was discretionary.
The discretionary function exception’s scope extends beyond high-level policymakers, and includes government employees at any rank exercising discretion.
In this case, the Government contends that all of the alleged acts of omission and commission by Plaintiffs are directed toward FEMA rather than Johnson, and that the exception applies to each and every allegation. Plaintiffs’ Complaint alleges that the Government was “negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless” in the following ways: failing to provide stairs with handrails to invitees to inspect mobile homes for sale; failing to follow safety regulations promulgated by FEMA by not providing hand rails for stairs to enter mobile homes; failing to provide a solid surface upon which to place stairs or ladders when entering a mobile home for
Plaintiffs contend that the conduct alleged in this case was neither a policy decision nor an exercise of discretion in furtherance of public policy goals; thus, the exception cannot apply. Plaintiffs further argue . that Johnson’s alleged acts/omissions are not policy decisions or administrative actions and do not constitute supervisory or management decisions. Likewise, they are not susceptible to policy analysis according to Plaintiffs.
1. Element of Judgment or Choice
Plaintiffs have yet to direct the Court to any mandatory statute, regulation, or policy prescribing the specific course of conduct that removed the element of judgment or choice by Johnson. In their Opposition, Plaintiffs state that Johnson testified in her deposition that it would have been against FEMA policy for her to provide the ladder to Mr. Gibson.
The Court simply cannot find that such a general unwritten and unidentified guideline, not provided by any party to the Court in its specific language and requirements, is sufficient to deprive the Government of the protection of the discretionary function exception.
In any event, the Court agrees with the Government that providing a ladder is not the same as personally assisting an individual to climb, descend, or otherwise use the ladder. Under either party’s version of events, i.e., whether Johnson provided the ladder or Mr. Gibson requested the ladder, it is clear from the record that Johnson did not assist Mr. Gibson in the manner in which he used the ladder. The Court further finds that the conduct alleged did involve an element of judgment or choice on the part of Johnson.
2. Susceptible to Policy Analysis
The Court likewise finds that the acts and/or omissions allegedly committed
The Court agrees with the Government that whether to build steps or not to provide for access to these trailers is an operational decision related to FEMA’s implementation of offering these units for public sale. Practicality and costs are certainly policy considerations touching on these decisions. Clearly, the cost of rebuilding steps for all of the trailers would have seriously cut into the net price FEMA obtained from the sale of these units. Thus, FEMA’s desire to “liquidate the mobile homes as inexpensively as possible”
To the extent there exists a “no assistance” policy by FEMA with respect to aiding potential buyers in inspecting the trailers, such a policy is also clearly susceptible to policy analysis for the reasons presented by the Government. Noting the legal implications for such a policy, the Government contends that FEMA choosing a “hands off’ approach with assisting potential buyers in their inspection of the trailers lessens the chance that an employee could place FEMA at risk for falls that might occur in the entering and existing these trailers. The Court takes no position on the correctness, soundness, or implementation of such a policy, but finds that such a policy is easily susceptible to policy analysis.
3. Applicable Jurisprudence
In Kohl v. United States,
Kohl was a certified bomb technician with the Nashville Police Department who participated in a research experiment funded by the United States Department of Defense, which involved constructing and detonating explosive devices in vehicles and then collecting post-blast debris for laboratory analysis as forensic evidence.
The Sixth Circuit provided meaningful guidance on the analysis of the alleged tortious conduct.
Thus, the conduct at issue must be framed in terms of the scope of administrative authority to use discretion in executing the research experiment. More properly formulated, the conduct at issue is “the recovery of forensic evidence and the necessary actions taken to facilitate that recovery, including actions taken to dislodge the door of the minivan so that evidence could be recovered.” Kohl [v. United States ], 2011 WL 4537969, at *7 [ (M.D.Tenn. Sept. 29, 2011)]. Our analysis thus focuses on whether ATF’s actions in collecting the forensic evidence from the field test, including decisions about what equipment to use, are protected by the discretionary-function exception.66
With respect to the first prong, neither party had argued that there was a mandatory policy or regulation at issue; thus, the court found that the challenged government conduct involved discretion.
The court further explained:
The planning and execution of the research experiment is susceptible to policy analysis, including judgments about how to respond to hazards, what level of safety precautions to take, and how best to execute the experiment in a way that balanced the safety needs of the personnel and the need to gather evidence from the vehicles.71 Decisions about how to execute the experiment include judgments as to what kinds of equipment to use to extract the evidence for forensic laboratory analysis. These equipment-related decisions were “intimately related” to the execution of the field experiment—in other words, judgments as to how to extract the evidence from the vehicles after the bombs were detonated, including what equipment to use, were necessary to the execution of the project.72 Thus, a challenge to the use of a particular piece of equipment, ie., the winch, would amount to a challenge as to the overall execution of the research project.73 The conduct at issue is thus unlike the Gaubert Court’s example of driving a car in connection with a government mission; the ATF employee’s use of the winch was sufficiently related to the purposes that the post-blast investigation sought to accomplish to fall within the discretionary-function exception.74
The court also noted that it had “previously concluded that in executing a government program, the government’s decision as to what equipment to use and how to use that equipment fall under the discretionary-function exception, absent government standards or directives.”
These cases make clear that the discretionary-function exception protects decisions at the operational level, including choices like the one ATF employee Guerrero made in this case about when to use a winch. Because ATF employees had discretion to decide how best to conduct the field test, including which equipment to use, the decision to use a specific piece of equipment in this particular situation, i.e., to use a winch to open the door of the minivan, also falls within the government’s discretionary decisions. This is so even if Guerrero was negligent in using the equipment— the discretionary-function exception protects even abuses of discretion. 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a) (stating that the FTCA does not apply to claims based on discretionary functions, “whether or not the discretion involved [was] abused”). Kohl’s claims against the United States for negligence during the research experiment are thus barred by the discretionary-function exception.79
The Court recognizes that Kohl is not binding authority, but the Court is persuaded by the reasoning and analysis in Kohl as applied to similar factual allegations involving the alleged negligence of a government employee in the use (or misuse) of equipment. Furthermore, all of Johnson’s choices, even if erroneous, were clearly discretionary decisions made at the operational level which are protected by the discretionary function exception because those decisions were all related to the purpose sought to be accomplished by FEMA—the sale of the disaster relief trailers.
The Court also finds the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Lively v. United States
The Lively plaintiffs were longshoremen working on the docks of the Baton Rouge Port Commission in Port Allen, Louisiana. Between 1959 and 1966, they were exposed to raw asbestos which they had helped unload from ships traveling to South Africa. The asbestos had been imported for stockpiling by the General Services Ad
The plaintiffs alleged that the United States was liable for their injuries because it negligently failed to warn them of the danger of exposure to asbestos and negligently failed to provide proper equipment to reduce this danger.
The activities at issue in this case are the decision to stockpile the asbestos; the decisions regarding the manner of procuring the asbestos, including the decision not to place warnings on the bags; and the decision not to provide or require safety equipment or safety programs for the stevedores. The decision to stockpile asbestos was an administrative decision grounded in social, economic and public policy.
The G.S.A.’s choice of procurement policies also is within the exception. As we stated in Ford v. American Motors Co. [Corp.]: “Both the evaluation of actual or suspected hazards and the decision to proceed in a particular manner in light of those hazards, are protected discretionary acts not subject to tort claims ...” 770 F.2d 465, 467 (5th Cir. 1985). Consequently, in Ford we held that the Government’s decision to sell used United States Postal Service jeeps to the public without warning of the vehicles’ propensity to roll over was a discretionary act exempted from FTCA liability. Like the Postal Service in Ford, the G.S.A. in this case chose to proceed with a program without warning of the hazards of the substance to which it was exposing the public. G.S.A. had the authority to promulgate specifications for purchasing asbestos, including specifications for packaging the material. When it exercised its authority, G.S.A. chose not to require a warning on the asbestos packages. Like the decision to stockpile the asbestos, the procurement policies are within the discretionary function exception.83
The Court finds that, for the same reasons set forth in Lively, the decision by FEMA to sell FEMA trailers to the public and the manner in which to implement such a program, including the decision not to provide stairs, constitute administrative decisions clearly grounded in social, economic, and public policy. FEMA was not required to warn every potential buyer of every potential danger relating to the inspection of the trailers. Thus, the Court finds that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA applies to the all of the conduct allegedly committed by Johnson on behalf of FEMA in this case.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Motion for Summary Judgment
Judgment shall be entered accordingly.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
. Rec. Doc. No. 27.
. Rec. Doc. No. 31.
. Rec. Doc. No. 32.
. Rec. Doc. No. 34. The Plaintiff likewise filed a Reply. Rec. Doc. No. 36.
. Ree. Doc. Nos. 31 & 34.
.Mr. Gibson testified that "activation” of FEMA trailers consisted primarily of hauling trailers to a designated site; blocking and leveling the trailer; constructing and attaching wooden steps and/or ramps to the trailer for ingress and egress purposes; running the sewer line; and connecting electrical power to the trailer. See Rec. Doc. No. 25-3, p. 4 (Deposition 1 of William R. Gibson, p. 30).
. Mr. Gibson testified that “deactivation” of FEMA trailers required Gibson Brothers to clean the inside of the trailer and remove the trailer and trailer materials to a designated FEMA storing area. See Rec. Doc. No. 32-3, p. 2 (Deposition 1 of William R. Gibson, p. 16).
. Rec. Doc. No. 27-1, p. 3, citing Deposition 1 of William R. Gibson, pp. 70-75.
. Rec. Doc. No. 27-2, p. 4 (Deposition 1 of William R. Gibson, p. 30).
. Mr. Gibson contends there is a distinction between a trailer and a mobile home in that trailers are equipped with a set of pull-up steps, and mobile homes are not. Rec. Doc. No. 31, p. 2.
. According to Johnson, she first provided Mr. Gibson with a two-step plastic stool to enter and exit the trailers, but Mr. Gibson requested the ladder after using this stool a few times. Rec. Doc. No. 27-4, pp. 8-9 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, pp. 29-30).
. Although Mr. Gibson contends he does not use the terms “trailer” and “mobile home” interchangeably, he does so in this memorandum. Rec. Doc. No. 31, p. 2.
. Rec. Doc. No. 31-2, p. 20 (Deposition 1 of William R. Gibson, p. Ill, lines 1-15).
. 28 U.S.C. § 2671 etseq.
. Rec. Doc. No. 27-4, pp. 8-9 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, pp. 29-30).
. Id. at p. 16 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, p. 85).
. Id. at pp. 17-18 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, pp. 44-45).
. Id. at p. 23 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, p. 40).
. Id. at p. 20 (Deposition of Joan Johnson, p. 51).
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); New York Life Ins. Co. v. Travelers Ins. Co., 92 F.3d 336, 338 (5th Cir. 1996); Rogers v. Int’l Marine Terminals, Inc., 87 F.3d 755, 758 (5th Cir. 1996).
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). See also Gunaca v. Texas, 65 F.3d 467, 469 (5th Cir. 1995).
. Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994) (en banc) (quoting Celo-tex, 477 U.S. at 323-25, 106 S.Ct. at 2552).
. Id. at 1075.
. Wallace v. Texas Tech Univ., 80 F.3d 1042, 1046-47 (5th Cir. 1996).
. Little, 37 F.3d at 1075; Wallace, 80 F.3d at 1047.
. Wallace, 80 F.3d at 1048 (quoting Little, 37 F.3d at 1075). See also S.W.S. Erectors, Inc. v. Infax, Inc., 72 F.3d 489, 494 (5th Cir. 1996).
. McCallum Highlands v. Washington Capital Dus, Inc., 66 F.3d 89, 92 (5th Cir. 1995), as revised on denial of rehearing, 70 F.3d 26 (5th Cir. 1995).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-51, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. F.D.I.C. v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471, 114 S.Ct. 996, 127 L.Ed.2d 308 (1994).
. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b); see United States v. Muniz, 374 U.S. 150, 83 S.Ct. 1850, 10 L.Ed.2d 805 (1963) (confirming the right of a federal prisoner to sue under the FTCA for injuries received during incarceration).
. Lane v. Pena, 518 U.S. 187, 116 S.Ct. 2092, 135 L.Ed.2d 486 (1996).
. 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a); see Guile v. United States, 422 F.3d 221, 229 (5th Cir. 2005).
. See St. Tammany Parish ex rel. Davis v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency, 556 F.3d 307, 315 (5th Cir. 2009).
. United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 322, 111 S.Ct. 1267, 113 L.Ed.2d 335 (1991) (quoting Berkovitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531, 536, 108 S.Ct. 1954, 100 L.Ed.2d 531 (1988)) (internal quotations, alternations, and citations omitted).
. Freeman, 556 F.3d at 337.
. Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 536, 108 S.Ct. 1954.
. Id.
. Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 322-23, 111 S.Ct. 1267.
. United States v. S.A. Empresa de Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense (Varig Airlines), 467 U.S. 797, 814, 104 S.Ct. 2755, 81 L.Ed.2d 660 (1984).
. Id. at .813, 104 S.Ct. 2755. (“[I]t is the nature of the conduct, rather than the status of the actor, that governs whether the discretionary function exception applies in a given case.”).
. Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 325, 111 S.Ct. 1267.
. Id.
. Id. at 324, 111 S.Ct. 1267.
. Rec. Doc. No. 1, pp. 5-6.
. Rec. Doc. No. 31, p. 6.
. Id. at p. 12.
. Id.
. Even if the parties could identify a specific policy which required that Johnson not assist Mr. Gibson in getting in and out of the trail
. Rec. Doc. No. 40-1, pp. 28, lines 22-25 & p. 29, lines Í-2 (Deposition of Joan Johnson).
. Id. at pp. 74-75.
. Rec. Doc. No. 45-2, p. 55, line 10 (Deposition of Herman Jones).
. Id. at p. 55, lines 14-18.
. See Autery v. United States, 992 F.2d 1523, 1529 (11th Cir. 1993).
. Lopez v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 455 Fed.Appx. 427, 433 (5th Cir. 2011) (quoting Freeman v. United States, 556 F.3d 326, 339-40 (5th Cir. 2009)) (emphasis added).
. See Bragg v. United States, 55 F.Supp.2d 575, 583 (S.D.Miss. 1999), citing Kennewick Irrigation Dist. v. United States, 880 F.2d 1018, 1026-27 (9th Cir. 1989).
. Rec. Doc. No. 34, p. 5.
. 699 F.3d 935 (6th Cir. 2012).
. Id. at 938, citing 2011 WL 4537969 at *1.
. Id. (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).
. Id. at 939.
. Id.
jd
. Id. at 941. The court found too broad the Government's emphasis on the context in which the alleged injury occurred in arguing that decisions related to how best to conduct the experiment involved policy-related judgments and were thus shielded from liability. However, the court also stated: "Kohl’s formulation of the conduct at issue is inappropriate for the same reason: by framing the question as whether the ATF employee operated the winch in a safe manner, Kohl 'begs the question'.” Id. at 942.
. Id. at 942.
. Id., quoting Autery v. United States, 992 F.2d 1523, 1528 (11th Cir. 1993).
. Id. (emphasis added),
. Id., citing Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 536, 108 S.Ct. 1954.
. Id. at 943, quoting Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 325 n. 7, 111 S.Ct. 1267. The court noted, for example, that the Gaubert Court "used negli
. Id.
. Id., cf. Konizeski v. Livermore Labs (In re Consol. U.S. Atmospheric Testing Litig.), 820 F.2d 982, 993-95 (9th Cir. 1987) (finding that claims of negligence for failure to maintain sufficient safety precautions during "inherently dangerous” field testing of nuclear weapons were barred by the discretionary-function exception); Creek Nation Indian Hous. v. United States, 677 F.Supp. 1120, 1124-26 (E.D.Okla. 1988) (finding, in a case involving an explosion of bombs being transported by a commercial carrier, that the discretionary-function exception barred negligence claims against the United States for alleged failure to take adequate safety precautions regarding transportation of explosives).
. Id. (See Rosebush v. United States, 119 F.3d 438, 444 (6th Cir. 1997) (explaining that even if there is no indication "that policy concerns were the basis of a challenged decision, the discretionary function exception applies if the decision is susceptible to policy analysis") (citing Myslakowski v. United States, 806 F.2d 94, 97 (6th Cir. 1986))).
. Id. at 943-44. (See Graves v. United States, 872 F.2d 133, 137 (6th Cir. 1989)).
. Id. at 944 (See Bultema v. United States, 359 F.3d 379, 383 (th Cir. 2004)).
. Id.
. Id., citing Totten v. United States, 806 F.2d 698, 701 (6th Cir. 1986) (holding that decisions regarding the kinds of equipment used and the manner in which fuel was removed
. Id.
. Id., citing Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 325, 111 S.Ct. 1267; Varig Airlines, 467 U.S. at 820, 104 S.Ct. 2755.
. Id.
. Id. at 945.
. 870 F.2d 296 (5th Cir. 1989).
. Id. at 297.
. Id.
. Id. at 298.
. Rec. Doc. No. 28.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William GIBSON, et ux. v. UNITED STATES of America
- Status
- Published