Riley v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
486 F.3d 1030 (2007)
Lucas Riley (plaintiff) was badly injured when his view of U.S. Highway 63 was blocked by mailboxes as he pulled out from a side road, and his car was broadsided. Riley sued the United States (defendant), claiming the Postal Service negligently placed the mailboxes; nearby residents had previously complained about their location, though the Postal Service had declined to move them for cost reasons, and only relocated them after Riley's accident. The government showed the Postal Service placed the mailboxes curbside for efficiency and safety, given many homes sat far from the road. The district court dismissed Riley's suit on sovereign-immunity grounds, and Riley appealed.
Whether a government agency's decision reflecting an exercise of policy-based discretion is shielded from suit by sovereign immunity.