United States v. Thomas O. Hunsucker and Eva Newman Hunsucker

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, awarding Thomas and Eva Hunsucker, appellees, $119,000 for damages to their farm lands lying adjacent to Oxnard Air Force Base, California. The action was brought by appellees under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (b), § 2671 et seq. Jurisdiction is conferred on this court under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

The district court made the following findings in favor of appellees:

The court further found that as a direct and proximate result of these acts, appellees’ property was damaged in the amount of $119,000. Appellant contends that these findings were clearly erroneous and that in addition the district court erred in failing to hold that appellees’ cause of action was precluded by the “discretionary function” exception in the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2680 (a).

The United States maintained an air force base during World War II near Oxnard in Ventura County, California. In 1950 air force officers inspected the base with a view toward its reactivation for use during the Korean conflict. Under date of January 31, 1951, Job No. Oxnard…