Von Tagen by and Through Von Tagen v. United States

ORDER

Plaintiff in this action seeks recovery against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346 (b), 2671-2680, for injuries suffered in an automobile accident which occurred on federal property while plaintiff was engaged in a recreational use. Plaintiff alleges that the accident resulted from the government’s failure to erect a guardrail or warning sign at a dangerously sharp curve on Conzelman Road in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, located in Marin County, California.

The Federal Tort Claims Act allows plaintiffs to recover damages for personal or property injury

28 U.S.C. § 1346 (b).

The government’s motion for summary judgment is based primarily on California’s “recreational use” statute, Civil Code section 846, which states:

Cal.Civ.Code § 846.

The government contends that because section 846 immunizes real property owners from liability in negligence for injuries to persons who use property for recreational purposes, and because plaintiff cannot establish that he is within an exception to the immunity statute, the government’s liability to plaintiff is precluded by section 846.

There is no dispute that at the time of the…