Case Explained: SCHRADE JONES CARTER GILLIAM v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-07-30 Docket: 5:22-cv-00620-LCB The eleventh-circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ admiralty claims against the United States but reversed and remanded the dismissal of claims against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The court held that the Suits in Admiracy Act’s waiver of sovereign immunity is subject to an implicit discretionary-function exception under binding Eleventh Circuit precedent (*Williams v. United States*). Applying the two-part test from *United States v. Gaubert*, the court determined that the government’s decisions regarding whether to mark, remove, or warn of the unmarked duck blind involved elements of judgment and choice susceptible to policy analysis, thereby shielding the United States from liability. However, the court concluded that the TVA Act’s sue-and-be-sued clause provides an independent basis for jurisdiction that is not barred by the discretionary-function exception, as recognized in *Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority*. Because the SAA’s exclusivity provision only applies when a remedy is provided under that act, and the SAA claim was barred, plaintiffs may proceed against the TVA under the TVA Act. The case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.