Costo v. United States

Opinion by Judge McKEOWN; Dissent by Judge FERGUSON.

McKEOWN, Circuit Judge:

This tort case is a suit stemming from a personal tragedy. Nollie Costo and Christopher Graham drowned during an employer-sponsored rafting trip, and their estates sued their employer for negligence. But their employer is not an ordinary one. It is the United States Navy. Thus, the suit is barred unless the United States has waived its sovereign immunity. To determine whether the suit can properly proceed, we must confront — yet again — the Feres doctrine, which limits the United States’ waiver of sovereign immunity.…