Brooks v. United States, Nos. 388 and 389
| Court | United States Supreme Court |
| Writing for the Court | MURPHY |
| Citation | 337 U.S. 49,69 S.Ct. 918,93 L.Ed. 1200 |
| Parties | BROOKS v. UNITED STATES (two cases) |
| Docket Number | Nos. 388 and 389 |
| Decision Date | 16 May 1949 |
v.
UNITED STATES (two cases).
Mr. W. S. Blakeney, of Charlotte, N.C., for petitioners.
Mr. Paul A. Sweeney, of Washington, D.C., for respondent.
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Mr. Justice MURPHY delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 921, 60 Stat. 842, now 28 U.S.C. § 26 1, 28 U.S.C.A. § 2671. The question is whether members of the United States armed forces can recover under that Act for injuries not incident to their service. The District Court for the Western District of North Carolina entered judgment against the Government, rendering an unreported opinion, but the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed, in a divided decision. 169 F.2d 840. We brought the case here on certiorari because of its importance as an interpretation of the Act.
The facts are these. Welker Brooks, Arthur Brooks, and their father, James Brooks, were riding in their automobile along a public highway in North Carolina on a dark, rainy night in February, 1945. Arthur was driving. He came to a full stop before entering an intersection, and proceeded across the nearer lane of the intersecting road. Seconds later the car was struck from the left by a United States Army truck, driven by a civilian employee of the Army. Arthur Brooks was killed; Welker and his father were badly injured.
Welker and the administrator of Arthur's estate brought actions against the United States in the District Court. The District Judge tried the causes without a jury and found negligence on the part of the truck driver. The Government moved to dismiss on the ground that Welker and his deceased brother were in the armed forces of the United States at the time of the accident, and were therefore barred from recovery. The Court denied the motion, entered a $25,425 judgment for the decedent's estate, and a $4,000 judgment for Welker. 1 On appeal,
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however, the Government's argument persuaded the Court of Appeals to reverse the judgment, Judge Parker dissenting.
We agree with Judge Parker. The statute's terms are clear. They provide for District Court jurisdiction over any claim founded on negligence brought against the United States. We are not persuaded that 'any claim' means 'any claim but that of servicemen.' The statute doen contain twelve exceptions. § 421 (now 28 U.S.C.A. § 2680). None exclude petitioners' claims. One is for claims arising in a foreign country. A second excludes claims arising out of combatant activities of the military or naval forces, or the Coast Guard, during time of war. These and other exceptions are too lengthy, specific, and close to the present problem to take away petitioners' judgments. Without resorting to an automatic maxim of construction, such exceptions make it clear to us that Congress knew what it was about when it used the term 'any claim.' It would be absurd to believe that Congress did not have the servicemen in mind in 1946, when this statute was passed. The overseas and combatant activities exceptions make this plain.
More than the language and framework of the act support this view. There were eighteen tort claims bills introduced in Congress between 1925 and 1935.2 All but two3 contained exceptions denying recovery to members of the armed forces. When the present Tort Claims Act
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was first introduced, the exception concerning servicemen had been dropped.4 What remained from previous bills was an exclusion of all claims for which compensation was provided by the World War Veterans' Act of 1924, 43 Stat. 607, 38 U.S.C.A. § 421, et seq., 38 U.S.C.A. § 421 et seq. compensation for injury or death occurring in the first World War. H.R. 181, 79th Cong., 1st Sess. When H.R. 181 was incorporated into the Legislative Reorganization Act, the last vestige of the exclusion for members of the armed forces disappeared. See also Note, 1 Syracuse L.Rev. 87, 93-94.
The Government envisages dire consequences should we reverse the judgment. 5 A battle commander's poor judgment, an army surgeon's slip of hand, a defective jeep which causes injury, all would ground tort actions against the United States. But we are dealing with an accident which had nothing to do with the Brooks' army...
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Parker v. U.S., No. 77-3448
...110, 75 S.Ct. 141, 99 L.Ed. 139 (1954); Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152 (1950); Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 51-54, 69 S.Ct. 918, 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1948). See Stencel Aero Engineering v. United States, 431 U.S. 666, 97 S.Ct. 2054, 52 L.Ed.2d 665 (1977)......
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Miller v. U.S., No. 79-1964
...of military personnel should be barred under the Act. This argument was soundly rejected by the Supreme Court in Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 69 S.Ct. 918, 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1949). Brooks involved two soldiers who were off the military base and on furlough when their civilian vehicle ......
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Reilly v. US, Civ. A. No. 85-0748 P.
...to do with her army career "except in the sense that all human events depend upon what has already transpired." Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 52, 69 S.Ct. 918, 920 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1949). There is simply no connection between Atkinson's medical treatment and the decisional or discipli......
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Taber v. Maine, No. 264
...seemingly did not come about. Instead Feres quickly lurched toward incoherence. Part of the problem lay with Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 69 S.Ct. 918, 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1949), a case that had immediately preceded Feres. In Brooks, the Supreme Court permitted recovery under the FTCA t......
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Parker v. U.S., No. 77-3448
...110, 75 S.Ct. 141, 99 L.Ed. 139 (1954); Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152 (1950); Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 51-54, 69 S.Ct. 918, 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1948). See Stencel Aero Engineering v. United States, 431 U.S. 666, 97 S.Ct. 2054, 52 L.Ed.2d 665 (1977)......
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Miller v. U.S., No. 79-1964
...of military personnel should be barred under the Act. This argument was soundly rejected by the Supreme Court in Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 69 S.Ct. 918, 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1949). Brooks involved two soldiers who were off the military base and on furlough when their civilian vehicle ......
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Costo v. USA., No. 99-36101
...to bring FTCA suits, even though they had been compensated under the VBA." Johnson, 481 U.S. at 697 (citing Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 53, 93 L. Ed. 1200, 69 S. Ct. 918 (1949) and United States v. Brown, 348 U.S. 110, 111, 99 L. Ed. 139, 75 S. Ct. 141 (1954)). See also Sidley v. ......
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Reilly v. US, Civ. A. No. 85-0748 P.
...to do with her army career "except in the sense that all human events depend upon what has already transpired." Brooks v. United States, 337 U.S. 49, 52, 69 S.Ct. 918, 920 93 L.Ed. 1200 (1949). There is simply no connection between Atkinson's medical treatment and the decisional or discipli......