Facts

Mary Fisher brought a tort claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the federal government relating to an incident where Fisher was assaulted and battered by Brenda Olsen, a former employee of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Olsen was a vocational rehabilitation counselor for Fisher, and was disciplined by her VA supervisors at least three times for misconduct prior to the incident at issue involving Fisher. Fisher alleged that the VA was negligent in hiring, supervising, and retaining Olsen, and that the VA's negligence was a substantial factor in causing the injuries she suffered as a result of Olsen's assault.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant contended the discretionary function exception to the FTCA barred Fisher's claim.

Result

The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA applied to Fisher's sole claim for relief. The court found there were no federal statutes, regulations, or policies which specifically prescribed a course of action to be followed by the VA with regard to the hiring, supervision or retention of Olsen, so the challenged conduct was discretionary in nature.