BERKOVITZ V. UNITED STATES
486 U.S. 531 (1988)
NATURE OF THE CASE: This is an appeal in an action for negligence against the United
States (D). The District Court denied D's motion to dismiss the suit for lack of subject
matter jurisdiction, but the Court of Appeals reversed. The Supreme Court granted
certiorari.
FACTS: Kevan Berkovitz (P), an infant, ingested a polio vaccine manufactured by Lederle
Laboratories. Within a month, P had contracted polio, and was unable to breathe without
using a respirator. It was determined that P had contracted polio through this vaccine. P
sued the United States (D) in Federal District Court. P claimed that D was liable for his
injuries because D had acted wrongfully in licensing Lederle to produce the vaccine. P also
claimed that these actions violated federal law and policy regarding the inspection and
approval of polio vaccines. D moved to dismiss the suit, but the District Court denied the
motion, holding that neither the licensing of the vaccine nor the release of that vaccine to
the public was a 'discretionary function.' The Court of Appeals reversed. It rejected D's
argument that the discretionary function exception bars all claims arising out of the
regulatory activities of federal agencies. It stated that 'the discretionary function
exception is inapplicable to nondiscretionary regulatory actions,' and noted that employees
of regulatory agencies have no discretion to violate the command of federal statutes or
regulations. It then held that federal law imposed no duties on federal agencies with
respect to the licensing of polio virus vaccines or the approval of the distribution of
particular vaccine lots to the public. It then concluded that the licensing and release of
polio vaccines were wholly discretionary actions and, as such, could not form the basis for
suit against the United States. P appealed.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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