Moss v. United States, No. 17-1928 (8th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThis appeal stemmed from consolidated actions alleging negligence and malicious conduct by the United States related to the development and maintenance of Albert Pike. In 2010, an intense storm system caused rapid and serious flooding of the river and resulted in the death of 20 campers. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of the United States's motion to dismiss based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Applying the Arkansas Recreational Use Statute, the court held that the campsite fee the Park Service charged was not an admission fee, and charging the fee did not disqualify the Park Service from claiming immunity under the statute. Furthermore, camping within a 100-year floodplain was not an uncommon recreational activity in Arkansas and the activity was of common usage. Therefore, the statute's immunity would extend to a private land owner facing this claim and the government could claim the immunity.
Court Description: Erickson, Author, with Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Federal Tort Claims Act. In this action involving the deaths of 20 campers in the Albert Pike Recreation Area in the Arkansas portion of the Ouchita National Forest, for purposes of applying the Arkansas Recreational Use Statute, the campsite fee the Park Service charged was not an admission fee, and charging the fee did not disqualify the Park Service from claiming immunity under the statute; the activity of camping within a 100-year floodplain was a common recreational activity and not an uncommon one under the Statute; since this activity was a matter of common usage, the statute's immunity would extend to a private land owner facing this claim and the government could claim the immunity; as a result, there is no jurisdiction under the FTCA for plaintiffs' claims against the U.S.
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