Presidential sculpture at Mount Rushmore. Credit: Mendenhall Olga/Shutterstock.com 8th Circuit Affirms Mount Rushmore Slip-and-Fall Dismissal Over Discretionary-Function Exception
"Even if this were an accurate characterization of the Government's position, the argument belies our precedents. In determining whether the discretionary-function exception applies, we ask whether the challenged conduct is 'susceptible to policy analysis,' not whether it was in fact subjected to that analysis by the decisionmaker," Judge Bobby Ed Shepherd wrote on behalf the Eighth Circuit panel. "Furthermore, safety concerns are a typical policy consideration we identify when applying the discretionary-function exception."
December 08, 2023 at 02:54 PM
5 minute read
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the government under the discretionary-function exception, holding it applied to a woman's claims after she took a tumble at a national monument walkway that was under renovation.
After slipping and falling at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Autumn Hilger sued the government for negligence, but her claims were dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota's Western Division for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The lower court had applied the discretionary-function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in making its decision.
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