Mayfield v. United States

365 F. Supp. 3d 791
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 16, 2019
DocketCivil No. 6:18-CV-00261-ADA-JCM
StatusPublished

This text of 365 F. Supp. 3d 791 (Mayfield v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mayfield v. United States, 365 F. Supp. 3d 791 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

ALAN D. ALBRIGHT, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendant United States of America's Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1).1 After carefully reviewing the Parties' briefs, the relevant law, and the entire case file, the Court finds that Defendant's Motion should be granted for the following reasons.

I. Background

This lawsuit involves facts that are nothing short of horrific. A houseboat is beached in a popular swimming area called Sandy Point, a place where boaters and swimmers comingle. When a houseboat unexpectedly starts its engines tragedy strikes. A four-year old girl is sucked into the propeller, mutilated, and drowned. Her father, while attempting to save her, had both his legs amputated by the boat's propeller-he would eventually die from those injuries. The wife and mother of the husband and daughter was a bystander and witnessed the entire grisly scene. Plaintiffs have brought an action for damages against the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act (the "FTCA") in response to these events. Plaintiffs' claim focuses on allegations that Defendant was (1) aware of the fact that Sandy Point was used by both swimmers and boaters; (2) that the operation of boats presented a hazard to swimmers in the same area; and (3) that Defendant failed to properly regulate the use of motorized vehicles in this environment and did not post any signs warning the public of the hazards of having both boats and swimmers sharing the same space.

II. The Federal Tort Claims Act

The FTCA waives sovereign immunity and permits suit against the United States for claims sounding in state tort law for money damages. 28 U.S.C. § 2674 (waiving sovereign immunity to make the Government liable "in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances"). It provides district courts with jurisdiction over monetary claims against the Government *795for the negligent or wrongful acts of its employees "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)(1).

However, the liability of the United States under the FTCA is subject to various exceptions contained in 28 U.S.C. § 2680, including the "discretionary function" exception. See United States v. Gaubert , 499 U.S. 315, 322, 111 S.Ct. 1267, 113 L.Ed.2d 335 (1991). The discretionary function exception provides that the Government is not liable under the FTCA for:

Any claim based upon an act or omission of an employee of the Government, exercising due care, in the execution of a statute or regulation, whether or not such statute or regulation be valid, or based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.

28 U.S.C. § 2680(a). This exception "covers only acts that are discretionary in nature, acts that 'involv[e] an element of judgment or choice,' and 'it is the nature of the conduct, rather than the status of the actor' that governs whether the exception applies. Id. (quoting Berkovitz by Berkovitz v. U.S. , 486 U.S. 531, 108 S.Ct. 1954, 100 L.Ed.2d 531 (1988) ; U.S. v. Varig Airlines , 467 U.S. 797, 104 S.Ct. 2755, 81 L.Ed.2d 660 (1984) ).

III. Discussion

A. Preliminary Disputes

The first issue to be addressed is who has the burden of establishing jurisdiction. The Court finds that the burden rests on the plaintiff because they are the party asserting jurisdiction. At the pleading stage, the plaintiff has the burden to "invoke the court's jurisdiction by alleging a claim that is facially outside of the discretionary function exception." Freeman v. United States , 556 F.3d 326, 334 (5th Cir. 2009). The Court notes it is unclear whether the plaintiff or the government bears the ultimate burden of proving that the discretionary function exception applies. See St. Tammany Par., ex rel. Davis v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency , 556 F.3d 307, 315 n.3 (5th Cir. 2009). However, there is no question that the plaintiff bears the burden of showing Congress' unequivocal waiver of sovereign immunity. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am. , 511 U.S. 375, 377,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Johnson v. Sawyer
47 F.3d 716 (Fifth Circuit, 1995)
Montez v. Department of the Navy
392 F.3d 147 (Fifth Circuit, 2004)
Krim v. pcOrder.com, Inc.
402 F.3d 489 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Hix v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
155 F. App'x 121 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Dalehite v. United States
346 U.S. 15 (Supreme Court, 1953)
Berkovitz v. United States
486 U.S. 531 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Gaubert
499 U.S. 315 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Spotts v. United States
613 F.3d 559 (Fifth Circuit, 2010)
Shansky v. United States
164 F.3d 688 (First Circuit, 1999)
Isie D. Wysinger v. United States
784 F.2d 1252 (Fifth Circuit, 1986)
In Re: Katrina Canal Breaches
696 F.3d 436 (Fifth Circuit, 2012)
Freeman v. United States
556 F.3d 326 (Fifth Circuit, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
365 F. Supp. 3d 791, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mayfield-v-united-states-txwd-2019.