Ralph W. Staton v. United States

ERVIN, Circuit Judge:

Ralph W. Staton brought this action against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671 et seq., to recover damages for the loss of three hunting dogs shot by a park ranger in the Shenandoah National Park. The district court held that the government was exempt from liability under 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a) of the Federal Tort Claims Act because the park ranger had performed a discretionary act under 36 C.F.R. § 2.8(d).

We find that shooting the dogs was not a discretionary act and hold, therefore, that the government is not exempt from…