Grandense v. United States

GOODWIN, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671, et seq., for the loss of a Boeing 707 aircraft that crash landed after a lavatory unit caught fire.1 The Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) had certified that the lavatory unit complied with F.A.A. fire protection standards. Varig alleged that the unit did not comply. The trial court granted the United States summary judgment on the grounds that the certification did not come within California's good samaritan rule and that, even if it did, liability was precluded by the misrepresentation and discretionary function exception clauses of the Federal Tort Claims Act.