Burger v. United States

748 F. Supp. 1265, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13922, 1990 WL 160571
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedOctober 19, 1990
DocketNo. C-1-89-426
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 748 F. Supp. 1265 (Burger v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burger v. United States, 748 F. Supp. 1265, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13922, 1990 WL 160571 (S.D. Ohio 1990).

Opinion

ORDER

CARL B. RUBIN, District Judge.

By agreement of the parties, this matter is before the Court upon cross-motions for summary judgment. The Court does hereby set forth its findings of fact, opinion, and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact

(1) Plaintiff James B. Burger is the administrator of the estate of Marsha Burger, deceased.

(2) The defendant in this action is the United States Parole Commission (Parole Commission).

(3) On May 23, 1988, Marsha Burger was murdered during the commission of an armed robbery at the First Ohio Savings Bank, St. Bernard, Ohio.

(4) James Mills and Lewis Thomas were convicted in the Hamilton County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas of the aggravated murder of Marsha Burger and aggravated robbery with specifications of the First Ohio Savings Bank.

(5) At the time of the robbery and murder, Mills and Thomas were parolees under the supervision of the Parole Commission. Their parole supervisor was United States Probation Officer Charles Patrick Crowley.

(6) Mills and Thomas had a history of involvement with the federal criminal justice system. On August 18, 1969, Mills was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio of bank robbery. He was sentenced to a term of twenty-five years imprisonment. On October 25, 1974, he was paroled througn the Talbert House in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(7) On October 15, 1975, while both on parole, Mills and Thomas were convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio of armed bank robbery. They were each sentenced to a term of twenty-five years imprisonment.

(8) On October 7, 1975, parole violation warrants were issued by the Parole Commission for Mills and Thomas. The Parole Commission instructed the United States Marshal that if Mills and Thomas were sentenced on new federal charges, the warrants were to be returned unexecuted.

(9) The United States Marshal returned the warrant for Mills to the Parole Commission after Mills was sentenced for the October 1975 bank robbery.

(10) Parole Commission procedures required the Parole Commission to forward the returned warrant to the federal prison where Mills was incarcerated to be placed as a detainer against him. The Parole Commission’s regional office did not forward a detainer to the prison and no detain-er was lodged against Mills.

(11) On July 25, 1983, Mills was transferred to the Talbert House in Cincinnati, Ohio on work release pending his release on parole. On October 14, 1983, Mills was granted parole effective November 3, 1983. His parole conditions included drug aftercare.

(12) Crowley supervised Mills on parole from approximately November, 1983 until August, 1984. On October 18, 1984, a warrant for Mills’ arrest issued for violation of the conditions of his parole, specifically failure to submit supervision reports, failure to report as instructed, and failure to [1268]*1268report a change of address. Mills absconded before he could be arrested.

(13) The United States Marshal arrested Mills in Cincinnati on September 13, 1985. He had been at-large for approximately one year. The Parole Commission revoked Mills’ parole on December 9,1985 and Mills was sent to federal prison.

(14) Mills was transferred to the Talbert House on July 1, 1986. He was reparoled on September 13, 1986. His parole conditions included drug aftercare.

(15) On September 25, 1986, Mills was arrested in Cincinnati for unlawful possession of a prescription drug. Crowley’s notes dated September 30, 1986 disclose that Crowley was aware of the arrest.

(16) On October 28, 1986, Mills was convicted of unlawful possession of a prescription drug, a misdemeanor, in violation of Cincinnati Municipal Code Section 601-23. He was given a suspended sentence of 90 days in prison, fined $500, and placed on probation for two years. A stay was granted pending appeal. On June 24, 1987, the Ohio Court of Appeals reversed the conviction.

(17) On March 20, 1987, the Parole Commission removed the special condition of drug aftercare as a parole condition for Mills.

(18) A urine sample taken from Mills on March 21, 1988, tested positive for cocaine. Several urine samples taken prior to that date and four samples taken in May, 1988 tested negative for cocaine.

(19) Notes by Crowley dated May 20, 1988 disclose that a detective from the Cincinnati Police Department had informed Crowley that two capiases for speeding and possession of an open flask were pending against Mills. The detective further informed Crowley that Mills was a possible suspect in a bank robbery that had occurred in February of 1988 but that little proof of his involvement existed.

(20) Plaintiff has exhausted his administrative remedies as required under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2675.

Claims

This is an action for negligence and wrongful death brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2671-2680 and Ohio Revised Code Ann. Sec. 2125.02(B). Plaintiff seeks to recover damages in the amount of 2 million dollars. Plaintiff claims that defendant negligently granted probation/parole to Mills; negligently supervised Mills and Thomas while they were on probation/parole prior to May 23, 1988; and negligently failed to terminate the probation of Mills and Thomas in accordance with defendant’s policies, procedures and statutes, which omission constitutes negligence per se. Plaintiff alleges that Marsha Burger died as a direct and proximate result of negligent acts and omissions of United States’ employees while acting within the scope of their office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable in accordance with the law of Ohio.

Defendant alleges that it is immune from liability for its actions under the discretionary function exception of the FTCA. Defendant further claims that plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action against it under Ohio law.

Summary Judgment Standard

The summary judgment procedure under Fed.R.Civ.Proc. 56 is designed to secure a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of any action. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2555, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). However, Rule 56(c) permits the Court to grant summary judgment as a matter of law only after the moving party has identified as the basis of its motion “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any” which demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. The party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment “may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Lib[1269]*1269erty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (quoting, First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co.,

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Bluebook (online)
748 F. Supp. 1265, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13922, 1990 WL 160571, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burger-v-united-states-ohsd-1990.