IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals

No. 16-60062 Fifth Circuit

FILED March 22, 2017 TERESA GONZALEZ, Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiff - Appellant v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; JOHN DOES A-Z,

Defendants - Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, JONES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge: Teresa Gonzalez was injured while riding her bicycle over a ramp at De Soto National Forest. She sued various United States officials under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671–2680, alleging they failed to inspect and maintain the bicycle trails, and failed to warn her of the hazard. The United States moved to dismiss, arguing that the FTCA’s “discretionary function exception” barred Gonzalez’s claims. The district court granted the motion. We AFFIRM. Case: 16-60062 Document: 00513922359 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/22/2017

No. 16-60062 I. On July 28, 2012, Teresa Gonzalez and Robert Reville, Jr., went to the De Soto National Forest to ride their bicycles at the Bethel Bicycle Trails, which included the Couch Loop Trail. Before they began riding, Gonzalez did not look at the bulletin board at the park’s entrance, which contained a sign stating that the Couch Loop Trail was closed. They nevertheless embarked on the Couch Loop Trail. At some point, they took an “alternate route” to the left of the main trail that led to obstacles including a teeter-totter and a ramp. Neither attempted to ride over the teeter-totter, but both decided to ride over the ramp. Gonzalez had never jumped off a ramp before, and when she tried to do so, she fell off and suffered serious injuries. Gonzalez assumed that the ramp was part of the trail and built by the Forest Service. In fact, the ramp was built illegally by Gulf Coast Bicycle Club members, without the knowledge of the United States Forest Service (“USFS”). The USFS employees were not aware of the ramp’s existence before Gonzalez’s accident. They were, however, aware of an unauthorized bridge further down the trail, which is why the Couch Loop Trail was closed on the day of Gonzalez’s accident. 1 USFS recreational technician Charles Grice had posted a sign at the trailhead bulletin board that stated the trail was closed, and also flagged the bridge area with boards, signs, and ribbons. The sign at the trailhead bulletin board stated: “Couch Trail CLOSED,” and in smaller type, “Bridge Out.” The sign was on an 8 ½” by 11” sheet of paper. Gonzalez claims that neither she nor Reville saw any signs, and that she would have obeyed any warning sign she saw.

1 Gonzalez was injured on the ramp before making it to the bridge area. 2 Case: 16-60062 Document: 00513922359 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/22/2017

No. 16-60062 De Soto National Forest is about 382,000 acres. In 2012, Ronald Smith was the De Soto National Forest District Ranger, the highest ranking officer of a district. Two technicians were responsible for maintaining and inspecting the Bethel Bicycle Trails, full-time technician Charles Grice, and part-time technician, Anthony Bond. Grice testified that inspection and maintenance of the trails included identifyi