L.B., individually and on behalf of D.B., a Minor, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS; DANA BULLCOMING, agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs sued in his individual capacity, Defendants and Appellees

L.B., individually and on behalf of D.B., a Minor, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS; DANA BULLCOMING, agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs sued in his individual capacity, Defendants and Appellees. Oral Argument is set for Friday, April 15, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. in the George Dennison Theatre on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, with an introduction to the oral argument beginning at 9:30 a.m. Live-streamed through the Court’s website at http://stream.vision.net/MT-JUD/ --> L.B. filed suit in federal court under the Federal Tort Claims Act, seeking to hold the United States liable for the misconduct of Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer Dana Bullcoming. While he was on duty as a BIA officer, Officer Bullcoming threatened to charge L.B. with child endangerment because she was intoxicated in her children’s presence. After L.B. pleaded with him not to do so, he had nonconsensual sex with her that resulted in pregnancy. The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Billings Division, concluded that the United States was not liable for L.B.’s claims arising out of this incident because Officer Bullcoming was not acting within the scope of his employment with the BIA when he sexually assaulted L.B. The court interpreted Montana case law to mean that the scope of employment only includes the actions an employee undertakes “in furtherance of his employer’s interest.” L.B. appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the issue of whether the sexual assault occurred within the scope of Officer Bullcoming’s employment, and she asked the Ninth Circuit to certify that question to the Montana Supreme Court. This Court accepted the following question of law: Under Montana law, do law-enforcement officers act within the course and scope of their employment when they use their authority as on-duty officers to sexually assault members of the public? September

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