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1 1 (June 5, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzym0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ACongressional _______ ~aResearch Service hnforming the leg slative debate since 1914 - The Feres Doctrine: Congress, the Courts, and Military Servicemember Lawsuits Against the United States June 5, 2019 The Supreme Court's 1950 decision in Feres v. United States generally bars active-duty servicemembers from pursuing tort lawsuits against the United States for injuries that arise out of military service. Although some Members of Congress, judges, and scholars have criticized Feres, the Supreme Court has on multiple occasions declined requests to abrogate or modify the doctrine. Most recently, on May 20, 2019, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case of Daniel v. United States, in which the petitioner asked the Court to partially overrule Feres and thereby allow him to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the federal government. This Sidebar analyzes Feres, the legal issues surrounding the doctrine, and what the Court's most recent decision not to revisit the doctrine may mean for Congress. The Federal Tort Claims Act and the Feres Doctrine Under ordinary circumstances, a plaintiff injured by a defendant's wrongful conduct may file a tort lawsuit to attempt to recover money from that defendant. For instance, if a driver causes a car accident by negligently operating his vehicle, that driver may owe compensatory damages to other persons injured in the crash. However, ordinary tort law principles do not necessarily apply when the person who commits the tort is a federal officer or employee, as the legal principle of sovereign immunity ordinarily bars private citizens from suing the United States without its consent. That said, Congress may waive the United States's sovereign immunity in circumstances it deems appropriate. In this vein, Congress has enacted the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows private parties to pursue tort lawsuits against the United States under certain conditions. (For more on the FTCA, see this CRS report.) Although the FTCA waives the federal government's immunity from a variety of tort lawsuits, the Congress that enacted the FTCA opted to preserve the United States's immunity from certain types of lawsuits. Section 2680 of the FTCA accordingly lists various types of claims that plaintiffs may not pursue against the federal government notwithstanding the FTCA's general waiver of sovereign immunity. For example, the discretionary function exception, codified at Section 2680(a), insulates the United States from liability for injuries resulting from a federal employee's policy judgments or choices. Another provision, Section 2680(h), prevents plaintiffs from suing the United States for certain categories Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10305 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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