Turner Ex Rel. Estate of Turner v. United States
736 F.3d 274
4th Cir.2013Background
- Susan Turner sued the United States/USCG under the Suits in Admiralty Act after a July 4–5, 2007 boating incident in which she fell overboard, survived ~12 hours in the water, and her husband Roger Jr. disappeared and later drowned.
- The Turners’ unattended 20-foot boat was later found beached and empty; the USCG was notified early morning July 5 and conducted PRECOM/EXCOM information-gathering, then launched extensive air/sea searches after the boat was found.
- The USCG searched 173 square nautical miles with multiple assets from July 5–6 and used the Turners’ GPS; the search was suspended July 6.
- Susan (individually and as administratrix) claimed USCG negligence under the Good Samaritan doctrine, arguing failure to timely rescue and that Coast Guard actions worsened the Turners’ position.
- District court granted summary judgment for the USCG; Susan appealed, raising additional claims: sanctions for spoliation (USCG recycled/recorded over phone tapes), FOIA insufficiency, and denial of due process from allowance of an out-of-time summary-judgment motion.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coast Guard liability under Good Samaritan duty | Turner: USCG undertook rescue duties or otherwise failed to act reasonably and so breached duty, worsening risk and causing harm | USCG: No duty to commence rescue; when it acted it did so reasonably and did not increase risk or induce reliance | Affirmed for USCG — no breach; no increase in risk or induced reliance; summary judgment proper |
| Spoliation sanctions for recycled audio tapes | Turner: USCG deliberately recorded over phone tapes and should be sanctioned | USCG: No duty to preserve (no litigation notice); tape recycling was standard procedure and reviewed early with no relevant calls | Affirmed denial — plaintiff failed to show duty to preserve or willful destruction relevant to litigation |
| FOIA production adequacy | Turner: USCG must have additional responsive records (e.g., duplicate tapes) and its search was inadequate | USCG: Produced all responsive records it possessed; FOIA doesn’t require agencies to create/retain records or perform duplicative searches | Affirmed — USCG conducted reasonable search and produced records in its possession |
| District court docket management / due process (late summary-judgment filing & denial of court-hosted settlement conference) | Turner: Allowing late USCG motion deprived her of due process and denial of joint request for settlement conference was error | USCG: Court’s docket management discretionary; plaintiff was given opportunity to respond | Affirmed — no abuse of discretion; Turner had chance to oppose motion |
Key Cases Cited
- Sagan v. United States, 342 F.3d 493 (6th Cir.) (Good Samaritan doctrine governs Coast Guard/rescuer duties)
- Indian Towing Co. v. United States, 350 U.S. 61 (1955) (rescuer liability where affirmative undertaking creates obligation)
- Silvestri v. General Motors Corp., 271 F.3d 583 (4th Cir.) (duty to preserve evidence and spoliation standards)
- Vodusek v. Bayliner Marine Corp., 71 F.3d 148 (4th Cir.) (spoliation requires more than negligent loss; intentional conduct required)
- Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 445 U.S. 136 (1980) (FOIA obligates disclosure of existing agency records, not creation/retention of documents)