Coulthurst v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
214 F.3d 106 (2000)
Coulthurst (plaintiff), a federal inmate, was seriously injured when a weight-machine cable snapped due to alleged inadequate inspection and maintenance by Bureau of Prisons staff, who had only general guidelines requiring periodic safety visits to the exercise room without specific inspection procedures; the district court dismissed his FTCA negligence suit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction based on the discretionary function exception.
Whether a governmental entity is immune from suit for negligence by application of the discretionary function exception if the entity's actions are discretionary, not compelled by statute or regulation, and involved an element of judgment or choice grounded in considerations of public policy.