Scott v. United States

• Decision Date: 21 October 1964
• Docket Number: No. 21341.,21341.
• Citation: 337 F.2d 471
• Parties: Jack H. SCOTT, Edith L. Scott and Susan L. Scott, by next friend, Jack H. Scott, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

337 F.2d 471 (1964)

Jack H. SCOTT, Edith L. Scott and Susan L. Scott, by next friend, Jack H. Scott, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.

No. 21341.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

October 21, 1964.

L. B. Kent and Kent & Kearns, Columbus, Ga., for appellants.

David L. Rose, Atty., Alan S. Rosenthal, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., John W. Douglas, Asst. Atty. Gen., Floyd M. Buford, U. S. Atty., for appellee.

Before TUTTLE, Chief Judge, BELL, Circuit Judge, and WHITEHURST, District Judge.

PER CURIAM:

This suit was brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 2671-2680, to recover for injuries received by Edith and Susan Scott while on the premises of the Hunt Club located on the Fort Benning military reservation. Under the Tort Claims Act, the United States is liable for the negligence of the employees of any "federal agency." The District Court held that the Fort Benning Hunt Club was not a federal agency, and that therefore the United States could not be sued for the negligence of its employees. The controlling question presented by this appeal is whether this holding was correct.

The Hunt Club is located on the Fort Benning reservation, and its membership consists primarily of military personnel and their dependents. It is a self-supporting organization receiving no appropriations from the United States treasury. It maintains a small civilian staff paid entirely out of funds collected from the members. Permission to establish the club was granted by the Commanding General of Fort Benning, and he exercises ultimate authority over its activities. However, the normal activities of the club are overseen by a board of governors elected from its membership. The club's constitution provides that it is a "private association" which "shall not operate as an instrumentality of the Federal Government," and that it was established under Army Regulation 230-5, ¶ 2b. This regulation permits military personnel acting in their unofficial capacities to form "private associations * * * which are not established to provide essential morale and recreational facilities," and exempts these associations from regulations applicable to "instrumentalities of the Government."

We feel that the district judge adequately canvassed the law in this area and correctly concluded that there was insufficient nexus between the Hunt Club and Fort Benning to classify the club as a federal agency under...