Joyce Marie Connor v. United States of America, District of Columbia (Two Cases)

LEVENTHAL, Circuit Judge:

This is a tort case taken out of the ordinary only by the fact that the defendant-appellants are the District of Columbia and the United States, and that their positions diverge on questions of allocation of responsibility and jurisdiction.

I

The District of Columbia appeals from a judgment assessed against it, by virtue of a jury verdict, because of a defect in the sidewalk (protruding brick) which caused plaintiff to stumble. In general, the District of Columbia is like other municipalities in having a duty to repair sidewalks, albeit the obligation of other…