Liberty Mutual Insurance v. United States

Opinion and Order

BLOCK, Judge.

This case involves the intricacies of surety-ship law. In particular, the primary (and seemingly simple) issue is one that has bedeviled this court since its founding in the mid-Nineteenth Century: under what circumstances may a surety sue the United States? Correspondingly, since all federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, what exactly is the jurisdictional predicate for such a suit? Indeed, while circumstances may create inequities if such suits are not allowed, it is well worth remembering that the United States is shielded by the armor of sovereign…