Roath v. United States

843 F. Supp. 2d 944, 2011 WL 6888795, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150120
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedDecember 30, 2011
DocketCase No. 10-C-0228
StatusPublished

This text of 843 F. Supp. 2d 944 (Roath v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roath v. United States, 843 F. Supp. 2d 944, 2011 WL 6888795, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150120 (E.D. Wis. 2011).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S 12(c) MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS (DOC. 10)

C.N. CLEVERT, JR., Chief Judge.

Daniel R. Roath and Mary A. Roath (“Roaths”) brought suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), to recover costs for property damage. The United States seeks judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c),1 (Doc. 10), asserting it is not subject to liability because the alleged government conduct was a discretionary function that insulates it in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a). The Roaths oppose the government’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and assert that the discretionary function exception from liability does not apply because the United States violated its mandatory statutes, regulations and policies. (Doc. 15.) For the reason referenced further below, this court grants in part, and denies in part, defendant’s 12(c) motion.

I.

The Roaths own approximately one acre in Walworth County, Wisconsin, which is surrounded on three sides by land (“Surrounding Land”) owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.2 [947]*947(Compl. ¶¶ 3-4.) The United States held a 30-year easement for restoration on the Surrounding Land pursuant to the Wetland Reserve Program, 16 U.S.C. § 3837. (Compl. ¶ 5.) Consequently, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the United States engaged in demolition, construction and other activities on the Surrounding Land through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (“NRCS”).3 (Compl. ¶¶8-9.) The NRCS caused the removal of drain tiles and the construction of water control structures on the Surrounding Land in the 1920s. (Compl. ¶¶ 10-11.) The Roaths charge that such removal and construction, in conjunction with other NRCS activities on the Surrounding Land, caused the ground water on the Roath’s property to elevate in 2008, which resulted in significant property damage. (Compl. ¶¶ 12-24.)

Rule 12(c) permits a party to move for judgment on the pleadings. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c); N. Ind. Gun & Outdoor Shows, Inc. v. City of South Bend, 163 F.3d 449, 452 (7th Cir.1998). All facts alleged in the complaint are taken as true, with all reasonable inferences drawn in plaintiff’s favor. Pisciotta v. Old Nat’l Bancorp, 499 F.3d 629, 633 (7th Cir.2007). The standard used to review a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) is applied. N. Ind. Gun & Outdoor Shows, Inc., 163 F.3d at 452.

The complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Pisciotta, 499 F.3d at 633. Factual allegations must be enough to rise above the speculative level. Pisciotta, 499 F.3d at 633. Accordingly, enough facts must be set forth to state a claim that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The essence of the motion is that even assuming all asserted facts are accurate, plaintiff has no legal claim. Payton v. Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Med. Ctr., 184 F.3d 623, 627 (7th Cir.1999).

Documents attached to the motion are considered part of the pleading if they are referred to in the complaint and are central to the claim. Wright v. Associated Ins. Co., 29 F.3d 1244, 1248 (7th Cir.1994). Thus in analyzing a 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, the court must evaluate whether attached documents are within, or outside, the pleadings. See Help at Home, Inc. v. Med. Capital, L.L.C., 260 F.3d 748, 752-753 (7th Cir.2001). The court may consider public records without converting a 12(c) motion to one for summary judgment. Pugh v. Tribune Co., 521 F.3d 686, 691 (7th Cir.2008).

In opposition to the United State’s 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Roaths filed an affidavit including copies of various publically available regulations, manuals, handbooks, guidelines and directives. (Doe. 5). The affidavit also includes a deposition transcript and an exhibit to the deposition, from a related state action between the Roaths and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.4 For the purposes of the government’s 12(c) motion this court considers the publically [948]*948available documents filed by the Roaths. However, this court finds that the deposition and exhibit are matters outside the pleadings and will not consider these documents.5

II.

The United States is protected from suits without its consent pursuant to the ancient common law doctrine of sovereign immunity. Shuler v. United States, 531 F.3d 930, 932 (D.C.Cir.2008); see also FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471, 475, 114 S.Ct. 996, 127 L.Ed.2d 308 (1994) (“[S]overeign immunity shields the Federal Government and its agencies from suit.”). Under the Federal Tort Claims Act “FTCA”, the United States waives its sovereign immunity for civil actions in circumstances where 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). The FTCA includes a number of exceptions to its broad waiver of sovereign immunity. Berkovitz v. U.S., 486 U.S. 531, 535, 108 S.Ct. 1954, 100 L.Ed.2d 531 (1988). One such exception, known as the “discretionary function” exception, states that Section 1346(b) shall not apply to:

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). The court applies a two-part analysis to determine whether a challenged governmental action or omission constitutes a discretionary function that gives rise to immunity from liability. Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 535, 108 S.Ct. 1954;

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Bluebook (online)
843 F. Supp. 2d 944, 2011 WL 6888795, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roath-v-united-states-wied-2011.