ANDRADE v. CHOJNACKI

No. 01-50154.

338 F.3d 448 (2003)

Isabel G. ANDRADE; et al., Plaintiffs, Stephen E. Thompson, as administrator for the following estates: Estate of Chanel Andrade, Estate of Crystal Barrios, Estate of Isaiah Barrios, Estate of Dayland Lord Little, Estate of Kara Brittani (Pages) Little, Estate of Abigail Martinez, Estate of Audrey Martinez, Estate of Joseph Martinez, Estate of Melissa Morrison, Estate of Mayanah Schneider, Estate of Aisha Gyarfas Summers, Estate of Startle Summers, Estate of Hollywood Sylvia, Estate of Rachel Sylvia; Daniel Martinez, Sr.; Thomas Barrios; Misty Dawn Ferguson; Stanley Sylvia; Norman Washington Allison; Adeline Sylvia Black; Lowess Esmerella Blake; Robert Theophilus Blake; Debborah Brown, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Phillip J. CHOJNACKI; et al., Defendants, United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Jean Holub, Co-Administrator & Legal Representative of Estates of Bobbie Lane Koresh, Star Hadassah Howell & Cyrus Ben Joseph Howell, Minors, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Janet Reno, Attorney General; et al., Defendants, Janet Reno, Attorney General; Phillip J. Chojnacki; Jeffrey J. Jamar; Robert Ricks; Richard (Dick) Rogers; Defendants-Appellees. Misty Dawn Ferguson; et al., Plaintiffs, Misty Dawn Ferguson; Robert Theophilus Blake; Lowess Esmerella Blake; Debborah K. Brown, Sherry H. Burgo; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Janet Reno, Attorney General; et al., Defendants, Janet Reno, Attorney General; William S. Sessions; Lawrence A. Potts; Daniel M. Hartnett; Edward Daniel Conroy; David C. Troy; Phillip J. Chojnacki; Charles A. Sarabyn; Peter B. Mastin; Ted Royster; James Cavanaugh; Earl K. Dunagan; Darrel Dyer; William Buford; Davy Aguilera; Jeffrey J. Jamar; Robert A. (Bob) Ricks; Oliver B. Revell; Richard (Dick) Rogers; Lon T. Horiuchi; Byron Sage; Stephen E. Higgins; United States of America, Defendants-Appellees. Debborah Brown, Robyn Bunds, Individually and on behalf of minor child Shaun Wisdom Howell Koresh; Sherry Houtman Burgo; Clive Doyle; Katherine Farris; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America; et al., Defendants, United States of America; Janet Reno, Attorney General; William S. Sessions; Lawrence Potts; Stephen Higgins; Daniel Hartnett; Daniel Conroy; David C. Troy; Phillip Chojnacki; Charles (Chuck) Sarabyn; Peter Mastin; Ted Royster; James Cavanaugh; Earl Dunagan; Darrel Dyer; William Buford; Davy Aguilera; Jeffrey Jamar; Robert Ricks; Oliver Revell; Richard (Dick) Rogers; Lon T. Horiuchi; Byron Sage; Timothy Gaborie; John McGaw; William T. Johnston, Defendants-Appellees. James Loye Riddle; et al., Plaintiffs, Myrtle Ann Riddle, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Janet Reno, Attorney General; et al., Defendants, Janet Reno, Attorney General; Webster L. Hubbell; William S. Sessions; Lawrence A. Potts; Stephen E. Higgins, Director, ATF; Daniel Conroy; David C. Troy; Phillip J. Chojnacki; Charles A. Sarabyn; Peter B. Mastin; Ted Royster; James Cavanaugh; Earl K. Dunagan; Darrel Dyer; William Buford; Davy Aguilera; Jeffrey Jamar; Robert A. (Bob) Ricks; Oliver B. Revell; Richard Rogers; Lon T. Horiuchi; Byron Sage; United States of America, Defendants-Appellees. Oliver Gyarfas, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Aisha Gyafas Summers Deceased and of the Estate of Startle Summers Deceased; Elizabeth Gyarfas, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Aisha Gyarfas Summers Deceased and of the Estate of Startle Summers Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Jean Holub, Co-Administrators and Legal Representatives of the Estates of Bobbie Layne Koresh, Star Hadassah Howell and Cyrus Ben Joseph Howell, Minor Children Deceased; Bobby Wayne Howell, Co-Administrators and Legal Representatives of the Estates of Bobbie Layne Koresh, Star Hadassah Howell and Cyrus Ben Joseph Howell, Minor Children Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Debborah Brown; Sherry Houtman Burgo; Clive Doyle; Tillie Friesen; Floyd Houtman, Jr.; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. Stanley Sylvia; et al., Plaintiffs, Stanley Sylvia; Norman Washington Allison; Lucille Maynard; Adeline Sylvia Black; Lowess Esmerella Blake; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant-Appellee.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Filed July 14, 2003.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Michael A. Caddell (argued), Cynthia B. Chapman, James Martin Juranek, Jr., Caddell & Chapman, Houston, TX, for Thompson, Martinez, Barrios, Ferguson and Sylvia.

Ramsey Clark (argued), Lawrence W. Schilling, New York City, for Allison, Black, Lowess and Robert Blake and Brown.

Mark Bernard Stern (argued), Charles Wylie Scarborough, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civ. Div.-App. Staff, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before JONES, WIENER, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.


EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

Appellants, some of the survivors and estates of Branch Davidians who died during the 1993 conflict at Mount Carmel near Waco, Texas, attempted to prove at trial that the United States government should be held liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA") for deaths and injuries of Branch Davidian sect members during the siege of their compound outside Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993. The court, after a month-long trial, rejected...

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