11th Circuit Allows Alabama Anglers to Sue TVA but Bars Claims Against U.S. Government

Two Alabama bowfishers, Carter Gilliam and Schrade Jones, who suffered serious injuries after their boat struck an invisible duck blind on Guntersville Lake, may now sue the Tennessee Valley Authority under the TVA Act, according to a unanimous 11th Circuit decision. The panel, led by Judge Embry Kidd, rejected the fishermen’s attempt to hold the United States liable, invoking the discretionary-function exception of the Suits in Admiralty Act that protects government policy decisions from suit.

The court relied on the 1984 Williams v. United States ruling, emphasizing that decisions about marking or removing waterway hazards fall within protected policy-making. Judge Robin Rosenbaum joined a separate concurrence calling for an en banc hearing to revisit that precedent. Attorney Taylor Rouse welcomed the TVA victory but noted the opportunity to seek rehearing on the government claims. The case has been remanded to the federal district court in Alabama for further action.