Wien Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. United States
| Decision Date | 18 May 1967 |
| Docket Number | No. 21004.,21004. |
| Citation | 375 F.2d 736 |
| Parties | WIEN ALASKA AIRLINES, INC., Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Phillip D. Bostwick, Shaw, Pittman, Potts, Trowbridge & Madden, Washington, D. C., James J. Delaney, Jr., Delaney, Wiles, Moore & Hayes, Anchorage, Alaska, for appellant.
Richard L. McVeigh, U. S. Atty., Marvin S. Frankel, Asst. U. S. Atty., Anchorage, Alaska, for appellee.
Before JERTBERG and MERRILL, Circuit Judges, and MATHES, District Judge.
The issue of law involved in this appeal is whether Section 7(b) of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act 5 U.S.C. § 757(b),1 bars a third-party claim for non-contractual indemnity in an action where plaintiff is an F.E.C.A. beneficiary.
The facts are not in dispute. One Backlund, an employee of the Federal Aviation Agency, while in performance of his duties, was killed when an aircraft owned and operated by appellant and in which Backlund was a passenger, crashed. Backlund's widow, suing as administratrix of his estate on behalf of herself and the surviving children, brought a wrongful death action in the state court in the State of Alaska, alleging Backlund's death was due to appellant's negligent operation, maintenance and control of the aircraft.
Appellant impleaded the Federal Aviation Agency employee, one Narcisso, who had been on duty on the day of the crash. The third party complaint alleged that the crash had been caused by Narcisso's negligent performance of his duties as an Air Traffic Control Specialist, and sought full indemnity in the event Wien was held liable to the administratrix of Backlund's estate. Appellant asked for full indemnity from Narcisso in the event it was held liable to the estate.
The cause was removed to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Appellant amended its third-party complaint in Federal Court to add Narcisso's employer, the United States, as a third-party defendant.
The United States filed a motion for summary judgment and attached to it certain exhibits which showed that Backlund had been an employee of the Federal Aviation Agency at the time of his death and that the Federal Bureau of Employees' Compensation had ruled that he was in the performance of his duties when killed, and that an award had been entered under which Mrs. Backlund was receiving monthly payments of $525.00 for herself and her children.
On the basis of these facts, which were not disputed by appellant, the Government contended that since Sec. 7(b) of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act barred any tort claim by Backlund's widow against the United States, the United States could not be liable to appellant for all or part of the administratrix' claim against appellant.
On hearing of the motion for summary judgment...
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Oman v. Johns-Manville Corp.
...of divided damages in collision cases. The Fourth Circuit rejected the Ninth Circuit's position, expressed in Wien Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. United States, 375 F.2d 736 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 940, 88 S.Ct. 288, 19 L.Ed.2d 291 (1967); and United Air Lines v. Wiener, 335 F.2d 379 (......
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Newport Air Park, Inc. v. United States
...and indemnity. E. g., United Air Lines, Inc. v. Wiener, 335 F.2d 379, 398-399 (9th Cir. 1964) (Nevada law); Wien Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. United States, 375 F.2d 736 (9th Cir. 1967) (Alaska law); Scarbrough v. Murrow Transfer Co., 277 F. Supp. 92 (E.D.Tenn.1967) (No negligence under Tenn. l......
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Lopez v. Johns Manville, C84 155M.
...of the government, United's claim for indemnity must fail." Id. at 404. This conclusion was later reaffirmed in Wien Alaska Airlines v. United States, 375 F.2d 736 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 940, 88 S.Ct. 288, 19 L.Ed.2d 291 (1967). Still later, the Ninth Circuit found no justificat......
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Donham v. U.S.
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