Opinion ID: 726586
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 Ronald E. Dreier was an Administrative Specialist (Clerk) assigned to the 525th Replacement Detachment, Fort Lewis, Washington. On May 2, 1991, because his unit was scheduled to go into the field the following day, Ronald and his co-workers were released from duty at noon. Sergeant Scott Meir, one of Dreier's co-workers and possibly his office supervisor, 1 informed others in the office that he planned to spend the afternoon at the Solo Point Boat Launch, an area of Fort Lewis adjacent to Puget Sound, to relax, drink some beer, and get some sun. Under base regulations, use of the Solo Point area, consisting of a small beach and boat launch area, is officially limited to members of the military community and civilians who acquire use permits. In practice, the public is often able to gain access to the Solo Point area without acquiring a permit. 3 Ronald drove to his off-base home in Tacoma, changed out of uniform, went shopping, and drove to Solo Point. He was soon joined by Sergeant Meir between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Specialist Rivera and Sergeant Anderson arrived later in the afternoon. The four soldiers sunbathed, drank beer, and waded in the water of Puget Sound. In total, Ronald drank about six to eight beers. After a few hours, the soldiers began walking westward along Burlington Northern Railroad tracks that ran along the shoreline of Puget Sound. After walking for a distance of approximately one half mile, they came upon the Solo Point Water Treatment Facility's concrete drainage channel passing under the tracks and emptying into Puget Sound. 4 The water treatment facility itself is located at the top of a hill rising above the shore of Puget Sound. Water that is directed through the facility is redirected into a concrete channel approximately ten feet wide, with steep fifteen foot walls on either side. The channel runs downhill from the treatment facility at a sixty degree angle for approximately 400 feet, and the water in the channel travels at approximately sixty miles an hour. Concrete baffles at the bottom of the channel slow the water before it enters Puget Sound. 5 On the day of Ronald's death, the immediate area around the drainage channel was overgrown, and there were no signs warning of the danger of the channel or fences immediately around it. 2 At about 5:00 p.m., the group waded in the rocks near where the channel emptied into Puget Sound. The group decided to hike from the mouth of the channel to the top of the hill where the channel began. Ronald lagged behind Anderson, Meir, and Rivera, who all reached the top of the hill. They remained at the top of the hill for approximately twenty minutes before returning to the bottom. There, they found the body of Ronald, who had apparently fallen into or otherwise entered the channel and had been swept into the concrete baffles at the bottom of the channel. Ronald's death was caused by drowning and severe, blunt head and neck injuries. His blood alcohol level at the time of his death was .16 percent. 6 Ronald's widow, Rebecca Dreier (hereinafter Dreier) filed two claims for administrative settlement with the Department of the Army, requesting a total of $7,000,000. The claims were denied in May 1993. On November 5, 1993, Dreier brought a claim for wrongful death against the United States under the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671 et seq., in the district court for the Western District of Washington, alleging negligence on the part of the government, claiming that the government knew that the area surrounding the treatment facility was so highly dangerous and ultra-hazardous as to constitute a life-threatening risk to any person who encountered it, yet failed to institute any safety measures intended to prevent injury or death. 7 On March 28, 1995, the government filed, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) and 56 a Motion to Dismiss, or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment. The government requested that the district court dismiss Dreier's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Feres doctrine, or in the alternative, that it grant summary judgment pursuant to two Washington state statutes. On May 16, 1995, the district court dismissed Dreier's claims as barred by the Feres doctrine, and did not reach the state law issues.