Alaska Employment Law

Court reverses Beistline, holds Army to private, not municipal liability standard

Carol Bolt claimed that the Army failed to use due care to remove snow from her apartment complex on Ft. Wainwright, causing her injury.  Judge Ralph Beistline granted summary judgment in the government’s favor.

On appeal, the 9th Circuit reversed in part:

The district court held that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA’s grant of jurisdiction, see [28 USC] § 2680(a), did not apply because Army policies set forth specific and mandatory rules for snow and ice removal from parking areas. It granted the government’s motion for summary judgment, however, concluding that the Army was similar to a municipality and therefore, in light of Hale v. City of Anchorage, 389 P.2d 434 (Alaska 1964), not liable for injuries due to natural accumulations of snow and ice.

We affirm in part and reverse in part and remand for further proceedings. We affirm the district court’s jurisdictional ruling that the FTCA’s discretionary function exception does not apply, but we reverse the grant of summary judgment pursuant to Hale because the relevant question here is whether a private landlord, not a municipality, would be liable for negligence under similar circumstances. Lastly, we deny Bolt’s request for reassignment to a different district court judge on remand.

Bolt v. U.S., No. 06-35993 (9th Cir. Dec. 3, 2007).

Roberts Sparks of Fairbanks represents Bolt. Eric Feigin of the U. S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. represents the government.