Bette Bennett v. United States

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

BETTE BENNETT, No. 21-35941 Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. v. 3:20-cv-05382-

BHS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Defendant-Appellant.

OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Benjamin H. Settle, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted July 7, 2022 Seattle, Washington

Filed August 11, 2022

Before: Richard R. Clifton and Patrick J. Bumatay, Circuit Judges, and Richard Seeborg, * District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Seeborg

* The Honorable Richard Seeborg, Chief United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, sitting by designation. SUMMARY **

Federal Tort Claims Act / Statute of Repose

The panel reversed the district court’s order holding that plaintiff Bette Bennett’s Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) action was not subject to dismissal for having been filed outside the applicable state statute of repose; and remanded for further proceedings to determine the constitutionality of the statute of repose under Washington’s state constitution.

Bennett…