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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

ESTATE OF SHANNON MARIE BOONE, et al. v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

: : : CIVIL NO. CCB-08-658 : : ...o0o...

MEMORANDUM The estate of Shannon Marie Boone ("Ms. Boone"), together with her parents Mark Boone and Debbie Ramsburg Whipp, and Allstate Insurance Co. (together "the plaintiffs"), filed suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA") for damages arising out of a fatal traffic accident. The United States moved for partial summary judgment to limit the amount of any award in this case to $20,000. The parties have fully briefed the issue and no hearing is necessary. For the reasons stated below, the defendant's motion will be granted.

BACKGROUND The Fort Detrick Fire Department ("the department") is situated on the Fort Detrick Army base in Frederick County, Maryland. The department responds to emergencies on the base and in the surrounding areas of Frederick County. On March 30, 2005, en route to a house fire in Frederick County, a department fire truck collided with a vehicle driven by Ms. Boone. She sustained fatal injuries from the crash. On March 12, 2008, the plaintiffs filed their complaint against the United States under the FTCA alleging one survival count and two wrongful death counts. Each count seeks 1

$2,000,000 in damages. The United States filed its motion for partial summary judgment on August 6, 2008, arguing that a Maryland law limiting the liability of self-insured fire companies to $20,000 applies in this case.

ANALYSIS Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment "should be rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The Supreme Court has clarified this does not mean that any factual dispute will defeat the motion: "By its very terms, this standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986) (emphasis in original). "A party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment `may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of [his] pleadings,' but rather must `set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Bouchat v. Baltimore Ravens Football Club, Inc., 346 F.3d 514, 525 (4th Cir. 2003) (alteration in original) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)). The court must "view the evidence in the light most favorable to . . . the nonmovant, and draw all reasonable inferences in her favor without weighing the evidence or assessing the witness' credibility," Dennis v. Columbia Colleton Med. Ctr., Inc., 290 F.3d 639, 645 (4th Cir. 2002), but the court also must abide by the "affirmative obligation of the trial judge to prevent factually

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unsupported claims and defenses from proceeding to trial." Bouchat, 346 F.3d at 526 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Drewitt v. Pratt, 999 F.2d 774, 778-79 (4th Cir. 1993), and citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24 (1986)). The FTCA provides that "[t]he United States shall be liable . . . in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances[.]" 28 U.S.C.

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