Opinion ID: 328967
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Contentions by Florida East Coast.

Text: 22 Florida East Coast on its cross-appeal insists that the United States is not immune, under 33 U.S.C. § 702c, from liability for its negligence in the construction of this project. The railroad contends, first, that the statute does not relieve the United States of responsibility for damages resulting from floods created by its own negligence. Also, the damage here, Florida East Coast claims, was not caused by floods or flood waters within the scope of the immunity provision, but rather by the rapid runoff of surface waters. Finally, the railroad argues that section 702c has been superseded by the Federal Tort Claims Act. 23 The United States declares in response that section 702c relieves it of liability for damages resulting from all floods, whether the flood is natural or man-made. The events which occasioned the washout of the K-line, the government insists, constitute a flood within the intent of the Congress in enacting section 702c. The United States also argues that the immunity provisions of the flood control legislation have not been superseded by the Federal Tort Claims Act. 24