United States Tenth Circuit

In a Federal Tort Claims Act action by a railroad against the government based on the derailment of a train, judgment for plaintiff is reversed where: 1) the Tucker Act deprived the district court of jurisdiction over plaintiff's negligent breach of contract claim because it was a contract claim under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims; and 2) plaintiff's negligent inspection and maintenance claim was barred by the exculpatory clause of the parties' agreement, which did not violate Oklahoma public policy.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/06/2010
• Published 01/06/2010

Judges

• HARTZ, Circuit Judge., Before MURPHY, EBEL, and HARTZ, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Sarang V. Damle, Attorney, Appellate Staff, Civil Division (Michael F. Hertz, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney, Thomas M. Bondy, Attorney, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, with him on the briefs), Washington, D.C., for Defendant-Appellant., George R. Mullican (Robert D. Hart and Christopher D. Wolek, with him on the brief), Gibbs Armstrong Borochoff Mullican & Hart, P.C., Tulsa, OK, for Plaintiff-Appellee.