Monday, October 7, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, January 11, 2024
Navy still on the hook for negligence claims by military families injured by jet fuel leak
By Court House News @ 11:59 PM :: 613 Views :: Honolulu County, Environment, Military

Navy still on the hook for negligence claims by military families injured by jet fuel leak

The government managed to dodge failure to warn claims thanks to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

by Candace Cheung, Court House News, January 11, 2024

HONOLULU (CN) — A federal judge on Thursday advanced the bulk of negligence claims related to a 2021 U.S. Navy jet fuel leak that contaminated the drinking water and sickened hundreds of the military’s own dependents on a Honolulu base.

Military families brought the suit against the United States in September 2021, claiming the jet fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility polluted water along the military’s own water system and caused severe medical ailments ranging from gastrointestinal issues, skin conditions and neurological symptoms. The plaintiffs say the government failed to warn them about the potential dangers of the Red Hill facility and had denied them proper medical treatment.

Ruling on a motion to dismiss Thursday, U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi found a misrepresentation exception in the Federal Tort Claims Act — which bars claims against the United States for fraud or misrepresentation by a federal officer — shields the government from failure to warn elements in the plaintiffs’ negligent undertaking and medical negligence claims. The military families had said in their suit that the government had, at least partially, waived sovereign immunity.

The dozens of plaintiffs had argued their failure to warn claims shouldn’t be considered misrepresentation but rather a violation of the public notification requirement of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

“The court finds plaintiffs’ failure to warn claims are more properly characterized as a failure to communicate information, rather than as a negligent performance of an operational task,” Kobayashi wrote, finding the government’s failure to issue a water advisory did not fall under the Safe Drinking Water Act’s requirement to notify.

“Even if defendant possesses a duty to issue a public notification pursuant the SDWA and Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Sections 141.201 and 141.202(b), the misrepresentation exception still applies because the focus of the failure to warn claims is on the communication of information, Kobyashi wrote.

The plaintiffs, represented by Texas-based law firm Just Well Law and locally by Honolulu attorney Lyle Hosoda, also argued that the exception only applies to commercial or financial cases, and not personal injury cases. Kobayashi cited the Ninth Circuit’s previous rejection that the Federal Tort Claims Act only applies in economic contexts in her dismissal of the argument.

The failure to warn element of the plaintiff’s negligence claim, however, survived dismissal. Kobayashi found the relationship between government and the families, who lived on base on housing owned by the Navy, was akin to a lessor/lessee relationship and under Hawaii law, property owners have a duty to warn their lessees of any potential hazards.  

“Defendant possessed greater knowledge of the dangerous condition, given that defendant owns and operates the water system, and had more information about the leaks, given that the leaks were allegedly caused by negligent errors of United States personnel,” the judge wrote.

Nuisance, premises liability and emotional distress claims also remain in place. A non-jury trial for the suit is scheduled to begin in March.

The judge also declined to dismiss 77 plaintiffs from their medical negligence claim accusing the military of failing to treat the myriad of medical conditions they developed after ingesting the contaminated water. The government had argued that the claim for these plaintiffs hadn’t been specific enough as to the dates or from whom they sought treatment. Kobayashi disagreed, finding that the general allegations were sufficient for a medical negligence claim.

The jet fuel leaks from May and November 2021 have since been attributed by the Navy to operator error. The state has pushed for the Navy to take responsibility over the contamination, which continues to threaten the island’s main aquifer, that lies underneath the Red Hill facility which has been shut down and defueled.

 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii