Johnson v. Franklin

312 F. Supp. 310, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedMay 12, 1970
DocketCiv. A. Nos. 881, 2581
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 312 F. Supp. 310 (Johnson v. Franklin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Franklin, 312 F. Supp. 310, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749 (S.D. Ga. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDERS

LAWRENCE, Chief Judge.

These two Federal Tort Claim cases present striking factual similarities. In each instance a member of the armed services was involved in an automobile collision while driving his own car en-route to the new post of duty to which he had been assigned. In each instance the soldier and the sailor who were concerned had been given leave time and had spent a portion thereof at his “leave address,” a considerable distance cf. the direct route to the assigned post of duty. At the time of the accidents the two members of the armed forces who are involved had both reached a point not considerably distant from their respective destinations.

The United States has filed motions for summary judgment on the ground that its “employee” was not acting “within the scope of his office or employment” or “in line of duty.” 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2674, 2671.

The facts in the two cases are outlined below.

[312]*312 Henry Franklin

On December 28, 1966, a transfer order was issued directing AF2 Franklin, United States Navy, to report to a new post of duty at Jacksonville, Florida, by midnight, February 8, 1967. He had previously been stationed at Moffett Field in California. Franklin left there on January 10th and drove in his own automobile to Ashland, Kentucky. He designated his parents’ residence there as his “leave address.” Franklin was given fifteen days leave period, nine days travel time and four days proceed time before reporting to the Naval Air Technical Training Center at Jacksonville. He left Kentucky where he had stayed with his parents during part of his leave on January 23rd. His purpose in arriving at Jacksonville prior to the latest reporting date was to locate living quarters for his family. At Woodbine, Georgia, some forty-five or fifty miles short of his destination, his car was involved in a collision. This occurred on the same day that he had left Ashland. Franklin was sued in the Superior Court of Camden County. The ease was removed to the Brunswick Division of the District Court and, subsequently, plaintiff joined the United States as a party ¡defendant.

The Government has moved for summary judgment on the ground that the negligent acts complained of were not performed by Franklin in the scope of his employment or in line of duty. Franklin also seeks a summary judgment, contending that he is not subject to suit since he was engaged in his duties with the Navy at the time of the collision.

Chauncey Everett Murch

In November, 1966, while serving in Viet Nam, Technical Sergeant Murch received orders to report to Shaw Air Force Base at Sumter, South Carolina. He was to sign in not less than 40 days after his departure from his port of entry in the United States. Murch arrived at San Francisco on January 6, 1967. He flew by commercial airline at his own expense to Atlanta where he was met by his wife. They then drove in his car to Americus, Georgia. The residence of Mrs. Murch’s parents was designated on his travel order as his “leave address.” The travel time allotted to reach Shaw Air Force Base was ten days. Murch was given thirty days delay enroute. He was reimbursed by the Air Force at six cents per mile for travel expense directly from San Francisco to Sumter (2,761 miles). While spending his leave at Americus, Sergeant Murch and his wife drove to Shaw Field (328 miles) to look for housing accommodations. After arranging to buy a house, they returned to Americus by way of Atlanta where they had left one of their children. This was on January 13th-14th, 1967. He seems to have made another trip to Sumter for personal reasons on February 2nd-4th.

On February 9th Murch and his family packed up and left Americus by automobile. His forty-day period of leave and travel time would expire on February 13th and he says that he planned to report for duty on the afternoon of February 10th. The furniture was to arrive that day and he was anxious to be present. It was his intention to sign in after the purchase of the house was “squared away.”

On the afternoon of February 9th about 9 miles north of Sylvania, Georgia, the Murch car was involved in a collision on U. S. Highway 301. This occurred approximately 100 miles from Shaw Air Force Base. Expenses of the three automobile trips to Sumter were paid for by Sergeant Murch. He was entitled to use his own motor vehicle as the means of transportation to the place where he was to report.

Such are the facts of the two cases as set forth in the affidavits and in the various documents accompanying the respective motions for summary judgment.

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the United States is liable for injuries caused by the negligent act of an employee while acting within the scope [313]*313of his office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Acting in the scope of employment is statutorily defined, in relation to military or naval personnel, as “acting in line of duty.” 28 U.S.C. § 2671. The latter words go no further than to invoke the state law of respondeat superior in respect to torts arising out of the wrongful acts of such personnel. Williams v. United States, 350 U.S. 857, 76 S.Ct. 100, 100 L.Ed. 761.

Under the law of this State “Every person shall be liable for torts committed by * * * his servant * * * in the prosecution and within the scope of his business * * Georgia Code § 105-108. If the Georgia law governing respondeat superior as applied to a private individual or corporation contemplates that Franklin and Murch were in the course of their employment at the time of the accidents, the United States is liable in tort. It is just that simple. Except that it is not simple at all. It is extremely difficult and complicated. To begin with, the courts of Georgia have not and probably will never be confronted with an identical or even closely analogous set of facts. Soldiers and sailors, to use a Latin term, represent a sui generis type of employment and military or naval personnel are hardly comparable to persons in private employ.

In O’Brien v. United States, D.C., 236 F.Supp. 792, Judge Gignoux has pointed up some of the factors which illustrate the unique control the military service possesses over its personnel. He said:

“Kisor’s orders and the regulations referred to therein leave no doubt that he remained at all times accountable to the Air Force for all of his actions, including the driving of his private automobile. Whether Kisor was on travel or leave status, the Air Force had to be able to reach him through the address shown in his orders; he might be ordered to temporary duty at any time; and he was required at all times to conform to ‘standards of conduct, appearance, and safety expected of members of the Air Force.’ He was, moreover, subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S. C. § 911

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312 F. Supp. 310, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-franklin-gasd-1970.