House v. Mine Safety Appliances Co.
| Decision Date | 14 April 1978 |
| Docket Number | 76-1788,76-1789 and 76-2650,Nos. 75-3079,s. 75-3079 |
| Parties | Helen HOUSE et al., Plaintiffs, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Defendants. Helen HOUSE et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Defendants, United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Helen HOUSE et al., Plaintiffs, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Defendants. PVO INTERNATIONAL, INC., a California Corporation and Polytron Company, also known as Polyco Liquidating Corporation, a California Corporation, Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. SILVER DOLLAR MINING COMPANY, an Idaho Corporation, Polaris Mining Company, a Delaware Corporation, Hecla Mining Company, a Washington Corporation, Big Creek Apex Mining Company, an Idaho Corporation, Silver Surprize, Inc., an Idaho Corporation, Sunshine Consolidated, Inc., an Idaho Corporation, Silver Bismarck Mining Company, an Idaho Corporation, Metropolitan Mines Corporation Limited, an Idaho Corporation, et al., Third-Party Defendants-Appellees. Sandra NORRIS et al., Plaintiffs, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Defendants, United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Sandra NORRIS et al., Plaintiffs, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Defendants. PVO INTERNATIONAL, INC., a California Corporation and Polytron Company, now known as Polyco Liquidating Corporation, a California Corporation, Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. SILVER DOLLAR MINING COMPANY, an Idaho Corporation, Polaris Mining Company, a Delaware Corporation, Hecla Mining Company, a Washington Corporation, Big Creek Apex Mining Company, an Idaho Corporation, Silver Surprize, Inc., an Idaho Corporation, Sunshine Consolidated, Inc., an Idaho Corporation, Silver Syndicate, Inc., an Idaho Corporation, Bismarck Mining Company, an Idaho Corporation, Metropolitan Mines Corporation Limited, an Idaho Corporation, et al., Third-Party Defendants-Appellees. Arjvell E. FOWLER, Plaintiff, v. MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, a corp |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Jack R. Ormes, of Moyle & Draper, Los Angeles, Cal., Phalen G. Hurewitz, Beverly Hills, Cal. (argued), for plaintiffs.
John G. Laughlin, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., Leonard Schaitman (argued), Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho.
Before WALLACE and SNEED, Circuit Judges, and BOLDT, * District Judge.
These consolidated appeals come to us out of the litigation arising from the Sunshine Mine fire on May 2, 1972, in Kellogg, Idaho, in which over 90 miners died. The initial plaintiffs in this complex litigation were surviving relatives of those miners killed in the fire. Named as defendants in this wrongful death action were the United States, a number of companies involved in the manufacture and sale of a kind of polyurethane foam used in the mine, and others involved in the manufacture and use of self-rescue units used in the mine. Among these defendants were Polytron and PVO International, Inc., manufacturers of polyurethane foam. So far as the record reveals the Sunshine Mining Company was not named as a defendant in this initial suit.
After this initial suit had been filed, other suits were also instituted. Among these additional filings was a suit by Sunshine Mining Company, as plaintiff, seeking to recover for property damage to the mine and loss of profits. Another suit was brought on behalf of several insurance companies seeking recovery of moneys paid to Sunshine Mining Company for the property damage suffered in the fire. Included among the defendants in these suits were PVO and Polytron. These actions were then consolidated with the original wrongful death action.
PVO and Polytron then filed third party complaints in all the consolidated actions against eight small mining companies associated with the Sunshine Mining Company, seeking contribution or indemnity from them if PVO and Polytron should be found liable. These eight small companies, who were not named as defendants in any of the original actions, will be referred to as third-party defendants.
The District Court has jurisdiction of the actions against the United States by virtue of 28 U.S.C. § 1346. Diversity of citizenship is the basis of the federal court jurisdiction over the other causes of action. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
On this appeal we must decide whether 60 plaintiffs were properly dismissed from the action against the United States for failure to comply with the administrative claim requirement of the Federal Tort Claims Act and whether summary judgment was properly entered in favor of the third-party defendants who claimed the benefit of the immunity clause of the Idaho Workmen's Compensation Act. Our resolution of these issues requires that we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand in part.
The complaint against the United States charges that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, was negligent in inspecting and enforcing safety standards at the Sunshine Mine. Suit was brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq., (FTCA), which is a waiver of sovereign immunity in those cases "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).
The FTCA provides that "(a)n action shall not be instituted upon a claim against the United States for money damages for . . . death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, unless the claimant shall have first presented the claim to the appropriate Federal agency and his claim shall have been finally denied by the agency in writing . . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). The Ninth Circuit has explicitly held that this administrative claim requirement is jurisdictional in nature and cannot be waived. Blain v. United States, 552 F.2d 289 (9th Cir. 1977). Therefore, unless we find that proper administrative claims were filed for the 60 plaintiffs before us on this appeal, the order of dismissal must be upheld.
A document labeled "Notice of Claim" was filed with the Department of Interior by Jack Ormes, an attorney, on December 29, 1972. This document set forth a description of the accident and the alleged negligence of the Bureau of Mines. In addition, specific claims for $1,000,000 in damages per family were made on behalf of certain named members of the families of 50 of the miners. This Notice of Claim was signed by Mr. Ormes. After this document was received, the Department of the Interior requested that a Standard Form 95 (SF 95) be filed for each claimant. A single SF 95 was prepared for each family, with the surviving spouse and children listed in space # 2 labeled "Name of Claimant." A line was drawn through the rest of the form. At the bottom of each form there was a notation reading "See Notice of Claim submitted by Jack R. Ormes, Attorney at Law." Most of the SF 95s were signed by the surviving widow, though some were signed by Mr. Ormes. Attached to some of the SF 95s were survivors lists, containing the names of all family members, including some adult children who were not listed in the claimant space on the form itself.
After the Notice of Claim had been filed, other families apparently contacted Mr. Ormes. SF 95s were filed for these additional families. Again, the form was left blank except for the name of the claimants and the notation to "See...
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