John L. Lewis v. United States

On July 27, 1979, appellant John Lewis was injured by a vehicle owned and operated by the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Lewis brought this action in district court alleging jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act (the Act), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (b). The United States moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court dismissed, holding that the Federal Reserve Bank is not a federal agency within the meaning of the Act and that the court therefore lacked subject matter jurisdiction. We affirm.

In enacting the Federal Tort Claims Act, Congress provided a limited waiver of the sovereign immunity of the United States for certain torts of federal employees. United States v. Orleans, 425 U.S. 807, 813 , 96 S.Ct. 1971, 1975 , 48 L.Ed.2d 390 (1976). Specifically, the Act creates liability for injuries “caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission” of an employee of any federal agency acting within the scope of his office or employment. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346 (b), 2671. “Federal agency” is defined as:

28 U.S.C. § 2671 . The liability of the United States for the negligence of a Federal Reserve Bank employee depends,…