Court Declares United States'I Independence From the Plaintiff's Lawsuit by Way of Granting Motion To Dismiss

Independence Hall
Philadelphia, PA

In the case of Chrelashvili v. United States of America, No. 2:24-cv-02241-TJS (E.D. Pa. Nov. 7, 2024 Savage, J.), the court granted a Motion to Dismiss filed by the Defendant, The United States, in a personal injury action arising out of a trip and fall in a National Historical Park.

According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff sued the federal government after she allegedly tripped over a tree stump that was protruding through a sidewalk in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. 

The United States moved to dismiss by asserting that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act’s waiver of sovereign immunity applied. The United States argued that the exception applied because the dangerous condition of the property claimed of by the Plaintiff fell within the exclusive discretion of the National Park Service, whose officials had to balance competing policy interests within the limits of human and financial resources.

Based upon the case before it, the court concluded that the United States was indeed immune from the Plaintiff’s personal injury lawsuit under the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.  The Court's companion Order can be viewed HERE.


Source: “The Legal Intelligencer Federal Case Alert.” www.Law.com (Dec. 5, 2024).

Source of image:  Photo by Miguel Sanz on www.pexels.com.