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Originally Posted by JinnKai
While I certainly respect your insurance background, I think you are incorrect on the extent of the US Government's sovereign immunity. The Federal Tort Claims Act waives the right to sovereign immunity in the case that a federal employee causes the damage, including negligence. In this case, their is a basis for a tort case in negligence - specifically, breach of duty negligence.
I tend to believe the lawyer better understands his reason for filing against the US Government than you do.
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While I don't really want to get into a discussion on torts, I will point out that the Federal Tort Claims Act discrecionary function exclusion pretty much takes care of this kind of claim on a blanket basis, especially given that scenery preservation is a key point of the exclusion.
It's entirely possible that Mr. Messereau doesn't have a lawyer and filed this suit himself. It's also possible that it was done for him by a parent, sibling or best friend from college as a favor. It's also possible that he hired a lawyer who isn't really all that smart. Regardless, that lawyer has a very tough case to win since this exact claim is specifically excluded from the FTCA.
Why do I know all this? Nebraska tried to pass a similar law a few years ago because of the Omaha Court House and the fact that the floors there are slick as ice whenever there's any rain or snow. It took me about 5 minutes to find in my files today since I had the draft text for the bill when they were renewing the coverage a few years ago. We tried to use it to drive down the price but it never made it out of committee. If I can find the FTCA text that quickly in paper files, I imagine that anyone doing a google search can find it quicker.
I'll bet that there is more to this story that what's posted above. There are probably other parties (even if they're John Doe's) or at least more allegations than the simple failure to post warning claim that most ambulance chasers throw out there.