L. B. v. United States

• Decision Date: 23 September 2022
• Docket Number: 20-35514
• Citation: 49 F.4th 1241 (Mem)
• Parties: L. B., individually and on behalf of D.B., a minor, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Dana Bullcoming, agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs sued in his individual capacity, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

49 F.4th 1241 (Mem)

L. B., individually and on behalf of D.B., a minor, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.UNITED STATES of America; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Dana Bullcoming, agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs sued in his individual capacity, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 20-35514

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted May 6, 2021

Submission Vacated August 6, 2021

Resubmitted September 15, 2022 Seattle, Washington

Filed September 23, 2022

Timothy M. Bechtold (argued), Bechtold Law Firm PLLC, Missoula, Montana; John Heenan, Heenan & Cook, Billings, Montana; for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Timothy A. Tatarka (argued), Assistant United States Attorney; Kurt G. Alme, United States Attorney; United States Attorney's Office, Billings, Montana; for Defendants-Appellees.

Before: Mary H. Murguia, Chief Judge, and Danny J. Boggs^* and Marsha S. Berzon, Circuit Judges.

ORDER

In light of the Montana Supreme Court's August 16, 2022, opinion in response to this Court's August 6, 2021, certification order, this case is reversed and remanded to the district court for further proceedings. See L.B. v. United States , 2022 MT 166, ¶ 26, 515 P.3d 818 ("The certified facts establish that Officer Bullcoming was not, as a matter of law, acting outside the scope of his employment when he sexually assaulted L.B. and the question is one for a trier of fact.").

Appellee's motion for leave to file supplemental briefing is DENIED (Doc. 46).

A copy of this order shall serve as the mandate of this court.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

* The Honorable Danny J. Boggs, United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,...