Willess v. US
- Summarized by Steven Mulligan , Coan, Payton & Payne, LLC
- 10 years 9 months ago
- Citation:
- Willess v. United States of America, Case No. 13-6159 (10th Cir. March 26, 2014) (unpublished)
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- Appellant lacked standing to appeal dismissal of lower court action because his personal injury claim became property of the bankruptcy estate when he filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and the trustee was the proper party to prosecute such claim.
- Procedural context:
- Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma’s dismissal of appellant’s claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Because the 10th Circuit based its ruling on lack of standing, it did not reach the jurisdictional issue.
- Facts:
- Appellant, an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Air Force, sustained a lower back injury in a car accident on Tinker Air Force Base and received treatment while on active duty and after his military discharge. In 2007, he aggravated the injury and the Veteran’s Administration (the “VA”) determined he did not need immediate surgery. In 2008, a private medical center determined he needed prompt surgical intervention. Appellant alleged that he discovered in September 2008 that the VA’s delays in 2007 caused permanent injury and submitted a tort claim with the VA which was denied. In 2012, Appellant then brought a claim under the FTCA which was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. While the appeal was pending, the court was advised that appellant had filed bankruptcy in December 2009; about a year after his personal injury claim accrued. As a result, the claim became property of the bankruptcy estate and the trustee was the party with standing to pursue such claim.
- Judge(s):
- Tymkovich, Anderson, Bacharach
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