United States v. James S. Varner, James S. Varner and Mrs. Virginia M. Varner v. United States

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge:

James S. Varner and his wife instituted this suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346, against the Government for personal injuries sustained by Mr. Varner while working at Dobbins Air Force Base. Andy Electric Company, Varner’s employer, had entered into a contract with the Government to remove some of the old electric poles on the base, replace them with new poles, and transfer the wiring from the old to the new poles. One of the conditions of this contract was that all of the work was to be performed while the lines were deenergized (cold-line…