Kelley v. United States

792 F. Supp. 793, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8724, 1992 WL 141855
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1992
DocketCiv. A. No. 91-941-CIV-T-17A
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 792 F. Supp. 793 (Kelley v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelley v. United States, 792 F. Supp. 793, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8724, 1992 WL 141855 (M.D. Fla. 1992).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court on Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and Plaintiff’s response thereto.

FACTS

The Plaintiff sued CAP, a federally chartered corporation, 36 U.S.C. §§ 201-208, and Pilot “John Doe” (known as Eugene [794]*794W. Mcknight), for damages under Florida’s Wrongful Death Statute for the death of CAP Cadet Shawn Kelley.

On August 13, 1989, 18 year old cadet Shawn Kelley and two other cadets took a cadet orientation flight in St. Petersburg, Florida. The CAP flight, an Air Force authorized non-combat mission (10 U.S.C. § 9441(c)) crashed 3 miles west of St. Pe-tersburg, killing all the occupants. The plane that Shawn Kelley was a passenger in was owned by Defendant CAP.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff, as personal representative of the Estate of Shawn Kelley, is bringing suit against Defendants CAP and the United States. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that Defendant CAP was negligent in operating and maintaining it’s aircraft, and therefore the cause of the wrongful death of Shawn Kelly. Plaintiff is seeking the sustained loss of accumulation of net earnings, pain and suffering of the deceased, his mother and father, as well as all other damages allowable under the Florida Wrongful Death Statute.

DISCUSSION

Defendant has moved for the Court to grant the motion for summary judgment on a number of grounds. Primarily, Defendant argues that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the Plaintiff failed to meet the statutory prerequisites under the Federal Torts Claim Act when suing the United States, and secondly, the Plaintiff is barred from any legal claims because it has received compensation for losses under the exclusive remedial Federal Employee Compensation Act.

Plaintiff responds that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction since the requirements of these federal statutes do not apply, and the basis of its claim arises from Florida Wrongful Death Statute § 95.-ll(4)(d). Therefore, the first issue to be resolved by the Court is whether the action shall be governed by Florida statute or federal statutory law.

The CAP was created by an Act of Congress as a federally chartered corporation pursuant to 36 U.S.C. §§ 201-208. Further in 1943, the CAP became an official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and governed by 10 U.S.C. § 9441. In 1980, Congress amended 10 U.S.C. § 9441(c) to expressly provide that for purposes of determining civil liability, including damages, the CAP and its members were to be considered “instrumentalities” of the United States while fulfilling non-combat missions for the Air Force. Williamson v. Sartain, 555 F.Supp. 487, 490 (D.Mont.1982). Notably, Plaintiff relies upon Pearl v. United States, 230 F.2d 243 (10th Cir.1956) in support of its proposition that CAP is not an instrumentality of the United States, and thus by this implication Plaintiff argues that the federal statutes do not govern the case at hand. The Williamson court cites Pearl as authority of the law prior to the 1980 amendment which granted CAP federal instrumentality status. Therefore, Pearl is clearly no longer on point with the current law in regards to the CAP being an federal agency of the United States. The Court has already determined on March 18, 1992, that as a result of 10 U.S.C. § 9441(e) CAP being a federal instrumentality of the United States, the substitution of the United States as a Defendant was proper and legally necessary under 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d)(1).

Suits against the United States, however, are only permissible if consented to by the United States. Minnesota v. United States, 305 U.S. 382, 59 S.Ct. 292, 83 L.Ed. 235 (1939). The terms of such consent are usually located within selected federal statutes rather than state statutes such as Florida Wrongful Death Statute. The Florida statute fails to provide the essential consensual requirements in order for the Plaintiff to bring suit against the United States. Thus the Court, in following the strict standards of suing the United States, finds that the jurisdiction of this Court shall be determined under the parameters of the applicable federal law rather than state law.

The Federal Tort Claims Act provides the requirements for jurisdiction or bringing suit against the United States under cir[795]*795cumstances similar to this case. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). This section provides that suits under FTCA against the United are allowed only if “the claimant shall ha\e first presented a claim to the appropriate federal agency.” FTCA 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b) establishes a two year limit period for filing the administrative claim with an agency. This Circuit has strictly construed that filling “proper notice” or claim within a two year period is a jurisdictional prerequisite to maintaining a suit against the United States in federal court. Vintilla v. United States, 931 F.2d 1444, 1447 (11th Cir.1991); Adkins v. United States, 896 F.2d 1324, 1327 (11th Cir.1990); Tidd v. United States, 786 F.2d 1565 (11th Cir.1986).

The filing of suit does not relieve the Plaintiff of the requirement to file the administrative claim. Liveria v. First National State Bank of New Jersey, 879 F.2d 1186 (3rd Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 937, 110 S.Ct. 332, 107 L.Ed.2d 322 (1989). A cause of action accrues at the time of the injury. Mendiola v. United States, 401 F.2d 695, 697 (5th Cir.1965).

CAP cadet Shawn Kelley was killed in the fatal CAP flight on August 13, 1989, and therefore, that was the date that Plaintiffs cause of action accrued. Plaintiff had until two years later, or August 13, 1991 to file its administrative claim to. warrant a proper suit to claim damages.

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Related

Patricia Waddell v. United States
89 F.3d 831 (Fourth Circuit, 1996)
Waddell v. United States
Fourth Circuit, 1996
Kelley v. Civil Air Patrol
987 F.2d 774 (Eleventh Circuit, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
792 F. Supp. 793, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8724, 1992 WL 141855, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelley-v-united-states-flmd-1992.