United States Third Circuit

A judgment finding that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was liable on a theory of gross negligence for the shooting deaths of plaintiffs' children hours after the shooter was released from a residential housing facility located on VA grounds is affirmed as: 1) the VA was under a statutory duty to refrain from gross negligence in its treatment of the shooter; 2) there was no error in a finding that the VA acted in a grossly negligent manner when it strongly encouraged a housing facility to discharge the shooter and then failed to commit him under applicable procedures; and 3) the breaches of the standard of care resulted in the shooting deaths at issue. On cross-appeal, dismissal of plaintiffs' failure-to-warn claims is affirmed as the shooter did not make a threat of immediate harm against a readily identifiable victim.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/13/2006
• Decided 03/14/2007
• Published 03/14/2007

Judges

• FISHER, Circuit Judge., Before FISHER, CHAGARES and GREENBERG, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• William G. Cole, (Argued), U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Staff, Washington, DC, Joan K. Garner, Joel M. Sweet, Office of U.S. Attorney, Philadelphia, PA, 19106 Attorneys for Appellant/Cross Appellee U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs., Gerald A. McHugh, Jr., (Argued), Regina M. Foley, Raynes, McCarty, Binder, Ross & Mundy, Philadelphia, PA, Attorneys for Appellees/Cross Appellants Camille DeJesus, etc., and Cheryl Faulk, etc.