Aguilar v. United States

920 F.2d 1475 John A. AGUILAR; Karen M. Aguilar, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America; United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, a subdivision thereof, Defendants-Appellees. No. 89-16018. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted July 18, 1990. Decided Dec. 11, 1990. Richard Crenshaw, Vermeire & Turley, Phoenix, Ariz., for plaintiffs-appellants. Mark B. Stern, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before TANG, NOONAN, and RYMER, Circuit Judges. TANG, Circuit Judge: 1 John Aguilar sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. Secs. 1346 (b), 2674, for personal injuries he suffered from the alleged negligence of a federal employee. The district court granted partial summary judgment for the government, holding that the FTCA incorporates a Nevada state law cap on damages, limiting the government's potential liability. Aguilar appealed upon certification and the grant of an interlocutory appeal. We affirm. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 On October 31, 1986, the…