Opinion ID: 4549553
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: FTCA Discretionary Function Exception

Text: The discretionary function exception provides that the FTCA shall not apply to “[a]ny claim based upon an act or omission of an employee of the Government, exercising due care, in the execution of a statute or regulation, . . . or based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.” 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a). “[T]he discretionary function exception will not apply when a federal statute, regulation, or policy specifically prescribes a course of action for an employee to follow.” Berkovitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531, 536 (1988). “[G]overnmental conduct cannot be discretionary if it violates a legal mandate.” Galvin v. Hay, 374 F.3d 739, 758 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Nurse v. United States, 226 F.3d 996, 1002 (9th Cir. 2000)). Moreover, “the Constitution can limit the discretion of federal officials such that the FTCA’s discretionary function exception will not apply.” Id. (quoting Nurse, 226 F.3d at 1002 n.2). 102 FAZAGA V. WALLS We cannot determine the applicability of the discretionary function exception at this stage in the litigation. If, on remand, the district court determines that Defendants did not violate any federal constitutional or statutory directives, the discretionary function exception will bar Plaintiffs’ FTCA claims.48 But if the district court instead determines that Defendants did violate a nondiscretionary federal constitutional or statutory directive, the FTCA claims may be able to proceed to that degree. Because applicability of the discretionary function will largely turn on the district court’s ultimate resolution of the merits of Plaintiffs’ various federal constitutional and statutory claims, discussing whether Plaintiffs substantively state claims as to the state laws underlying the FTCA claim would be premature. We therefore decline to do so at this juncture.