Lilla E. Binney, Etc. v. United States of America, Margaret J. Lavoy v. United States

The Government appeals from judgments awarded against it in favor of the widows of two scuba divers who were killed during the course of dives made by the decedents to inspect the underwater portion of a dam owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The district court, 329 F.Supp. 351 , predicated liability on the Oregon Employers Liability Act. (Ore.Rev.Stat. 654.305 et seq.)

The Government contends that the decedents were outside the protection of the Employers Liability Act because they'were independent contractors and not employees of the Government. The district court’s findings and conclusions upon the issue of the status of the decedents as employees or independent contractors are not free from ambiguity. We decline to construe the ambiguity against the judgments. There was ample evidence to sustain the conclusion that the decedents were employees within the meaning of the Act.

The Government challenges the findings from which the district court concluded that decedent Lavoy was not contributorily negligent. Although there was evidence from which the district court could have found that Lavoy was contributorily negligent, the court’s findings to the…