Bethel Native Corp. v. Department of the Interior

We are called upon to decide whether the Eleventh Amendment bars the United States from asserting a third-party claim for equitable apportionment of tort liability against a state, when the plaintiff filed an original action in federal court against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). We conclude that Eleventh Amendment immunity does not extend to third-party claims brought by the United States against a state in this circumstance.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In August 1992, the United States General Services Administration (GSA) and the Alaska State Agency for Surplus Property (ASASP) executed a GSA Standard Form 123, under which the United States donated 375,000 gallons of diesel fuel to the State of Alaska (State). ASASP, in turn, sold the fuel to the City of Bethel (City) for 10 cents per gallon. The City agreed to remove the fuel from its storage location, which was the Bethel Administrative Site operated by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

From the end of August 1992 through April 1993, the City and its contractors periodically removed fuel from the Bethel Administrative Site. On or about April 15, 1993, it was discovered that a…