Joseph Curtis Foster Jaimi Lynn Foster Charles Bloch Associated Aviation Underwriters v. United States

Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant United States and dismissal of Plaintiffs’ complaint. Plaintiffs’ claim was based on the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680 (1988).

The district court granted summary judgment on the ground that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2680 (a) (1988), barred the claim against the United States. We affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In January, 1984, Joseph O’Brien (O’Brien) applied for a Class II medical certificate as a commercial pilot. Dr. William Brath (Brath) withheld issuance of the medical certificate, but recommended that O’Brien be issued a special issuance Class II medical certificate. On September 24, 1984, O’Brien’s application for a regular Class II certificate was denied by Federal Air Surgeon H.L. Reighard, who also determined that O’Brien’s medical history precluded issuance of a special issue certificate. On January 28, 1985, Federal Air Surgeon Frank Austin (Austin), issued O’Brien a special issuance Class II certificate, which was not valid for pilot-in-command privileges when carrying passengers for compensation. The special…