Reed ex rel. Allen v. United States Department of the Interior

Plaintiff-appellant Daniel Reed was severely injured in the early morning hours of September 2, 1996, when a car ran over-the tent in which he was sleeping. At the time of the accident, Reed was attending an event known as the Burning Man Festival, which was held on the desolate Black Rock Desert playa 2 in Nevada. The playa is federally owned land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). Reed filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2679-2680 (“FTCA”), against the United States to recover damages for his injuries. The United States moved for summary judgment, asserting that the suit was barred by the discretionary function exception to *503 the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2680 (a). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the United States, ruling that all the allegedly negligent conduct of the government was shielded by the discretionary function exception of the FTCA, leaving the court without subject matter jurisdiction. Reed appeals. We review de novo. Miller v. United States, 163 F.3d 591, 593 (9th Cir.1998).

It may be helpful in viewing plaintiffs injuries in context to explain the Burning Man event. According to its promoters, the event…