Charles W. Driscoll v. United States

The plaintiff and appellant, Charles W. Driscoll, brought this suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346 (b) and 2671 — 2680, and Lance A. Harmon to recover medical expenses incurred, income lost, and compensation for pain and suffering resulting from an accident occurring on Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. Driscoll, at the time a civilian employee working on the Base, was struck by a car driven by Harmon, an employee of the United States, while walking to the building in which he worked from a parking lot located across the street.

The claim against Harmon was dismissed without prejudice for want of jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2679 (b) which makes suit against the United States the exclusive remedy for claims such as Driscoll’s “resulting from the operation by any employee of the Government of any motor vehicle while acting within the scope of his office or employment . . . This dismissal rested on the alternative ground that Harmon was not acting in the course of his employment at the time of the accident, a position stipulated by counsel for Driscoll and the United States.

Thereafter, the United States moved to dismiss…