Mcmurray v. United States

918 F.2d 834 Earl Jay McMURRAY, a minor child, by and through his natural parents, Barry McMurray and Kathy Ashbridge McMurray; Barry McMurray; Kathy Ashbridge McMurray; William John Ashbridge, a minor child, by and through his natural parents, Barry McMurray and Kathy Ashbridge McMurray, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. UNITED STATES of America, et al., Defendant-Appellant. No. 88-1567. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Dec. 15, 1988. Decided Nov. 9, 1990. Madelyn B. Creedon, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellant. Robert E. Heaney, Reno, Nev., for plaintiffs-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Before FERGUSON, BRUNETTI and LEAVY, Circuit Judges. BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge: 1 The United States appeals from the district court's conclusion that it willfully failed to guard or to warn against a dangerous condition that existed on government land at the Lee Hot Springs area near Fallon, Nevada. Earl McMurray, a minor child, was severely burned when he fell or sat in a shallow stream that had a water temperature between 160 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Government liability was based on the…