United States v. Pearl Burnett

The appellee, as plaintiff, brought suit against the United States claiming damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1346 , 2671 et seq. The somplaint alleged that the United States, as owner and operator of the Fairbanks International Airport, had been guilty of negligence in permitting an accumulation of ice and snow at places where passengers were unloaded from arriving airplanes; and that on her discharge from an airplane at that place, because of the slippery condition of the pavements where she was obliged to walk, plaintiff fell and received severe and extensive personal injuries.

When the case came on for trial, the court suggested that it proposed to try first the issue of liability and then go into the matter of damages, providing liability were established and found. Counsel apparently acquiesced in the court’s proposal, and accordingly witnesses were called, first by the plaintiff and then by the defendant, and examined with respect to matters relating to the liability of the Government for the plaintiff’s injuries.

At the conclusion of that testimony the question of whether the Government was liable was argued by counsel. The court then reviewed the…