Zavala v. United States

876 F.2d 780 Francisco ZAVALA, a minor, By and Through his Guardian ad Litem, Rita RUIZ; Rita Ruiz, individually; Manuel Ruiz, individually; Roberto Zavala, individually; and all as heirs of Rosa Zavala, deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellee. No. 88-6168. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 5, 1989. Decided June 5, 1989. William James Osborne, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. D. Michael Waltz, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Diego, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Before WRIGHT, FARRIS and NELSON, Circuit Judges. EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge: 1 We decide here whether to toll the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) two-year statute of limitation for a minor plaintiff whose father allegedly abandoned him during the limitation period. I. 2 Francisco Zavala, now nine years old, was born severely brain damaged at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. His father, Roberto, was a serviceman. His mother, Rosa, sought treatment at Pendleton beginning in mid-1979 for epileptic seizures. A civilian physician had told her to stop her…