Johnson v. United States, 2:22-cv-00523

Plaintiffs Michael and Sarah Johnson sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) after their cabin and property were destroyed in the Trail Mountain Fire, a controlled burn in Utah's Manti-La Sal National Forest that escaped containment in June 2018.
The Johnsons alleged negligence (failure to notify them of the burn), negligence per se, and trespass (based on the fire spreading onto their land).
The Forest Service had notified the community generally, but the Johnsons were not specifically listed on the notification plan, despite owning property about two miles from the burn perimeter.
Defendant (the United States) moved for summary judgment, arguing that the discretionary-function exception to the FTCA barred all claims.
The court analyzed whether the Forest Service’s decisions regarding notification and fire management were truly discretionary and based on public policy considerations.
Ultimately, the court granted summary judgment to the United States, dismissing all claims with prejudice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Applicability of FTCA discretionary-function exception to notification of prescribed burn	Notification was not discretionary; agency policy required notice to landowners	Who to notify as an "adjacent landowner" is discretionary under agency policy	Exception applies; notification decision was discretionary
Whether notification decisions implicate public policy	Not a policy-based choice; just a procedural step	Such notification is inherently policy-based; resource allocation and risk balancing	Policy-based; exception's second prong is met
Applicability of exception to fire suppression/trespass	(Not specifically argued in response)	Fire management actions are entirely discretionary and policy-driven	Exception applies; fire management conduct is discretionary
Summary judgment standard	Evidence on notification creates factual dispute	No dispute as facts are legally immaterial under FTCA exception	No material dispute; summary judgment for defendant

Berkovitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531 (discretionary-function test for FTCA claims)
United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315 (presumption that discretionary decisions are policy-based)
Hardscrabble Ranch, LLC v. United States, 840 F.3d 1216 (fire suppression decisions are discretionary under FTCA)
Garling v. EPA, 849 F.3d 1289 (sovereign immunity and burden on plaintiff under FTCA discretionary-function exception)
Knezovich v. United States, 82 F.4th 931 (discretionary-function exception and policy discretion in wildfire response)
Aragon v. United States, 146 F.3d 819 (exception applies regardless of governmental employee negligence)
Strawberry Water Users Association v. United States, 109 F.4th 1287 (discretionary-function exception applies to Forest Service fire suppression cases)