Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_05-cv-01693/USCOURTS-caed-2_05-cv-01693-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1345 Property Damage

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. 

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN 

FRANCISCO, HETCH HETCHY WATER 

AND POWER, 

 Defendants. /

No. Civ. S-05-cv-1693 DFL GGH 

Memorandum of Opinion

and Order

The court CERTIFIES an interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1292(b) of its finding on August 8, 2006 that plaintiff United 

States’s state law claims are not barred by Cal. Gov. Code § 

945.6. The court finds that whether Cal. Gov. Code § 945.6 

applies to the United States’s state law claims is a controlling 

question of law because “a contrary decision would materially 

advance ultimate termination.” 16 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur 

Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 3930 (2007). Moreover, 

whether Cal. Gov. Code § 945.6 applies to the United States is 

an unsettled and difficult issue where there is substantial 

ground for difference of opinion. See 2 Fed. Proc., L. Ed. § 

Case 2:05-cv-01693-JAM-GGH Document 33 Filed 05/18/07 Page 1 of 2
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3:212 (2007) (noting that there is a substantial ground for 

difference of opinion that supports a certificate for an 

interlocutory appeal if “novel and difficult questions of first 

impression are presented”). Finally, the court concludes that 

an immediate appeal may materially advance the litigation. 

Therefore, San Francisco’s petition is GRANTED. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: May 17, 2007 

 /s/ David F. Levi___________

 DAVID F. LEVI 

 United States District Judge 

Case 2:05-cv-01693-JAM-GGH Document 33 Filed 05/18/07 Page 2 of 2