Court Opinion

ID: 9470939
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:21:19.197868+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:11.934990
License: Public Domain

SKOPIL, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:
I concur in the reasoning of our majority opinion authored by Judge Fletcher. I write separately to emphasize that the language of the Nevada recreational use statute compels this decision. Language in other state recreational use statutes, however, does not impose liability on the United States. E.g., Jones v. United States, 693 F.2d 1299, 1303-04 (9th Cir.1982) (Washington recreational use statute). The Federal Torts Claims Act exception to sovereign immunity depends on application of state law. FTCA claims based on state recreational use statutes will thus continue to yield the disparate results shown in the cases surveyed in our opinion.
It is difficult to imagine that Congress, in passing the Federal Torts Claims Act, envisioned liability of the United States for injuries during recreation on the public lands. Nevertheless, the FTCA permits no other result when the Nevada recreational use statute is applied. If the liability of the United States is to be based on a uniform policy rather than the vagaries of individual state recreational use statutes, congressional action is definitely required.