Flowers v. United States, 8002.
| Decision Date | 22 July 1965 |
| Docket Number | No. 8002.,8002. |
| Citation | 348 F.2d 910 |
| Parties | John K. FLOWERS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Thomas E. Bennett, Oklahoma City, Okl., for appellant.
Robert L. Berry, Asst. U. S. Atty., Oklahoma City, Okl. (B. Andrew Potter, U. S. Atty., Oklahoma City, Okl., with him on the brief), for appellee.
Before PICKETT, BREITENSTEIN and HILL, Circuit Judges.
Flowers brought this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346, alleging that his right of privacy had been tortiously violated by the release of certain of his medical records by the Veterans' Administration to investigators of his then employer, the Internal Revenue Service. He also alleges that the examination destroyed his privilege and property rights in those hospital records. On pre-trial it was determined that a hearing would be held on the question of liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Then, if necessary, a second hearing on the issue of damages would follow. At the conclusion of the first hearing, the trial court found that the plaintiff had failed to establish a claim upon which relief could be granted. Flowers v. United States, D.C.W.D.Okl., 230 F.Supp. 747.
The facts indicate that Flowers, immediately prior to May 21, 1956, was a government employee at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Effective that date he accepted employment with the Internal Revenue Service at Oklahoma City as a Valuation Engineer, with a GS-9 rating. Shortly thereafter the Internal Revenue Service requested a routine investigation of Flowers to determine his qualifications for the position he was then occupying. As a part of this investigation an I.R.S. Inspector visited the Veterans' Administration Hospital at Topeka, Kansas, presented his credentials, and stated that the official purpose of his request was to review Flowers' medical record. The hospital personnel furnished the hospital records of Flowers to the investigator for examination. In Washington, D. C., a second I.R.S. inspector, pursuant to written requests in April and May, 1957, was furnished Flowers' Veterans' Administration claim file to review as a part of the same investigation. It is these releases of information of which Flowers complains. He contends that these records are his private property and that their release for examination to anyone without his consent is an invasion of his privacy for which there is liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Flowers makes numerous objections to the right of the I.R.S. agents to examine the hospital records without his consent, even...
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Doe v. DiGenova, 84-5571
...tort cause of action was available. J.A. at 102-03 (citing Flowers v. United States, 230 F.Supp. 747, 750 (W.D.Okla.1964), aff'd, 348 F.2d 910 (10th Cir.1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 994, 86 S.Ct. 578, 15 L.Ed.2d 481 (1966). Alternatively, the court held that since the invasion of privacy w......
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Premachandra v. U.S.
...are "wholly alien" to the remedy provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act for victims of tortious conduct; and Flowers v. United States, 348 F.2d 910, 911 (10th Cir.1965) and Radford v. United States, 264 F.2d 709, 710 (5th Cir.1959), holding that because the federal government has the right......
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Wham v. United States, Civ. A. No. 78-1136.
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