Berkovitz v. United States case brief

Berkovitz v. United States case brief summary
486 U.S. 531 (1988)

CASE SYNOPSIS

The Court granted certiorari to resolve a conflict in the courts and to review a judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which held that the discretionary function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) barred a claim by petitioners, a child and his parents, against respondent United States. Petitioners alleged that the United States was liable under the FTCA after the child contracted polio from a vaccine.

CASE FACTS
The child ingested a dose of an oral polio vaccine and contracted polio from the vaccine. Petitioners filed suit against the United States, alleging that the United States was liable for the child's injuries under 28 U.S.C.S. §§ 1346(b), 2674 of the FTCA because the Division of Biologic Standards (DBS) had acted wrongfully in licensing the manufacturer. Petitioners also alleged that the United States had acted wrongfully in approving the specific vaccine lot. The district court denied the government's motion to dismiss. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the licensing and release of the vaccine were discretionary functions.


DISCUSSION

• The Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals erred in holding that the discretionary function exception required the dismissal of petitioners' claims. 
• The Court concluded that the exception posed no bar to the extent that petitioners' licensing claim was based on a decision of the DBS to issue a license without having received required test data because the DBS had no discretion to issue a license without the data. 
• Similarly, the DBS had no discretion to issue a license without determining compliance with regulatory standards.

CONCLUSION
The Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and remanded the case for further proceedings.


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