Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Inc. v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
398 F.2d 167 (1968)
The government (defendant) contracted with drydock owner Bushey (plaintiff) to overhaul a Coast Guard ship, with Coast Guard personnel given access to the ship but told not to interfere with Bushey's employees, requiring anyone boarding to pass through a security gate, climb a ladder, and check in at a shack. One night, Coast Guard personnel let an intoxicated seaman returning from leave onto the ship via the drydock, and he turned wheels on a drydock wall that opened intake valves, causing the ship to fall against the wall and severely damaging both the ship and drydock. Bushey sued the government under respondeat superior, and the district court found the seaman had been acting within the scope of his employment when he caused the damage.
Whether an employer is liable for an employee's damage when it was foreseeable that such damage could occur within the scope of employment, even though the employee was not performing an assigned duty at the time.