Walls Industries, Inc. v. United States

DUHÉ, Circuit Judge:

In this case we address the issue whether a third-party claim against the United States may be maintained in impleader when the tort victim herself cannot sue the United States because of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 8101-8193. We hold that although the FECA does not directly bar a third-party plaintiffs right to sue the United States in all contexts, the FECA in this case takes away the Appellant’s substantive claim. We therefore affirm.

I

The relevant facts are undisputed. Julianne Ahlgren, a federal civilian employee, was burned in a fire on a…