We have significant trial and appellate experience litigating negligence and other tort cases brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The FTCA waives the Government's sovereign immunity for suits based upon negligence or other wrongdoing. The FCTA, however, is a limited waiver of the sovereign immunity, meaning the FTCA has several exceptions that preclude the recovery of money damages for the negligence or other wrongdoing by the Government. To the extent recovery is not precluded by one of the exceptions, the United States can be held liable to the same extent a private person in the same or similar circumstances could be held liable under the law of the state where the act or omission occurred. In addition, federal employees—but not federal agencies—may be sued where their acts or omissions have violated the constitutional rights of citizens.
GAUBERT V. UNITED STATES
Gaubert v. United States (885 F.2d 1284 (5th Cir. 1989) (argued for United States) (where a former bank owner sued for millions of dollars in damages alleging that its federal regulator's negligent day-to-day control of his troubled bank caused its failure, affirming in part and reversing in part the dismissal of the claim, holding that […]
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GRUBB V. UNITED STATES
Grubb v. United States, 887 F.2d 1230 (4th Cir. 1989) (argued for United States) (in a medical malpractice suit brought under the FTCA related to heart surgery that caused the death of a retired military officer, holding that a telephone call by a Naval officer to the deceased's spouse informing her that the Navy doctor […]
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GAUBERT V. UNITED STATES
Gaubert v. United States (N.D. Tex. 1988) (lead counsel for United States) (where a former bank owner sued for millions of dollars in damages alleging that its federal regulator's negligent day-to-day control of the troubled bank caused its failure, dismissed based upon the discretionary function exception of the FTCA because the decisions were based upon […]
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FDIC V. MEYER
FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471 (1994) (on briefs for FDIC) (holding that (i) only federal employees—not federal agencies—can be sued under a federal cause of action for tort damages in connection with the violation of a person's constitutional rights, and (ii) a suit against the United States under the FTCA is the exclusive remedy […]
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UNITED STATES V. GAUBERT
United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315 (1991) (on brief for United States) (where a former bank owner sued for millions of dollars in damages alleging that the bank its federal regulator's negligent day-to-day control of his troubled bank caused its failure, reversing the Fifth Circuit's decision and holding that the discretionary function exception of […]
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CITY NAT'L BANK V. UNITED STATES
City Nat'l Bank v. United States, 907 F.2d 536 (5th Cir. 1990) (argued for United States) (holding that a participating bank's only recovery against FDIC, as receiver for the lead lender, was for breach of a contractual duty by FDIC to pay the participating banks their share of repayment proceeds, and therefore, the FTCA was […]
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COLE V. UNITED STATES
Cole v. United States, 846 F.2d 1290 (11th Cir. 1988) (argued for United States) (affirming judgment that the Army was not liable under the FTCA for violating an alleged duty to warn, where (i) the manufacturer of the ordinance took safety measures to remove one possible cause of the explosion, (ii) neither the Army nor […]
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COLE V. UNITED STATES
Cole v. United States, 651 F. Supp. 221 (N.D. Fla. 1986) (on the brief for the United States) (in a wrongful death suit brought by the decedent of an army contract employee, held that (i) a claim for the Army's negligent failure to apply and enforce provisions of a safety manual for ammunitions, explosives, and […]
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