Court Opinion

ID: 9889460
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-10 16:00:50.008455+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:50:02.100768
License: Public Domain

United States Court of Appeals
                           For the Eighth Circuit
                       ___________________________

                               No. 23-1225
                       ___________________________

Candace Bishop, Personal Representative for the Estate of Charles Edward Bishop,
                                      Jr.

                                     Plaintiff - Appellant

                   Charles Edward Bishop, Jr., Estate Plaintiff

                                             Plaintiff

                                        v.

                            United States of America

                                    Defendant - Appellee
                                 ____________

                    Appeal from United States District Court
                    for the District of South Dakota - Central
                                  ____________

                          Submitted: October 4, 2023
                           Filed: October 10, 2023
                                [Unpublished]
                               ____________

Before BENTON, KELLY, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
                           ____________

PER CURIAM.
       Candace Bishop, acting as personal representative of the estate of Charles
Edward Bishop, Jr., appeals the district court’s 1 adverse grant of summary judgment
in her Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) action. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291, this court affirms.

       Upon de novo review, this court concludes that summary judgment was
properly granted, as the evidence in the record was insufficient to support Bishop’s
negligence claim. See Wood v. Wooten, 986 F.3d 1079, 1080 (8th Cir. 2021) (de
novo review of grant of summary judgment); Sorace v. United States, 788 F.3d 758,
763 (8th Cir. 2015) (in FTCA claim, applicable law is law of the place where act or
omission occurred; analogue for FTCA claim under South Dakota state law is a
negligence claim, which requires proof of duty, breach of that duty, proximate and
factual causation, and actual injury) (citation and quotation marks omitted);
Davidson & Assocs. v. Jung, 422 F.3d 630, 638 (8th Cir. 2005) (to defeat summary
judgment “[a] plaintiff may not merely point to unsupported self-serving allegations,
but must substantiate allegations with sufficient probative evidence that would
permit a finding in the plaintiff’s favor”). To the extent Bishop intended to raise any
other issues on appeal, we find no basis for reversal.

      The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
                      ______________________________

      1
       The Honorable Roberto Lange, Chief Judge, United States District Court for
the District of South Dakota.
                                     -2-