Opinion ID: 13423
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Applying the Law to Sarabyn and Royster

Text: 38 According to the stipulated facts, both Sarabyn and Royster made inconsistent statements that allegedly defamed Rodriguez to the media and to the investigators, including Congress. Rodriguez also alleges that Royster made similar inconsistent statements to other ATF agents. Each type of statement will be considered in turn. 39 Both Sarabyn and Royster were authorized to speak to the media on behalf of the ATF, and speaking to the media regarding the raid on the Branch Davidian compound was part of their job responsibilities. Because of this specific authority, both Royster and Sarabyn had a duty to the ATF to speak to the media regarding the raid. Any statements they made to the media were incident to their discharge of this duty and were within the scope of their employment by the ATF, and thus their employment by the United States. 40 All of the allegedly defamatory statements made by Sarabyn and Royster to investigators, including any statements made to Congress, were made in interviews or in testimony that the ATF required of each of them. The ATF directed them to speak to investigators and to cooperate in the investigations. This directive created a duty, if one did not already exist. The statements made to the investigators were incident to the discharge of this duty. 41 Royster's statements to other ATF agents about the raid and whether the element of surprise was lost were made either at the direction of his superior, ATF Associate Director Hartnett, or to ATF agents whom he supervised. In both cases, he had a duty. One was imposed by Hartnett's instructions; the other was inherent in his supervisory position to keep the agents working under him informed. In the discharge of these two duties, he made the allegedly defamatory statements. 42 Rodriguez argues that Sarabyn and Royster were acting purely from personal motives in making the statements in order to direct scrutiny away from their mistakes in the raid on the Branch Davidian compound. As discussed above, purely personal motives would not necessarily take them outside the scope of their employment because the making of the statements was so closely tied to the discharge of their duties to the ATF to speak to the press, investigators, and other ATF agents. That the statements were made to deflect scrutiny from themselves is not dispositive. See Wagner, 540 S.W.2d at 305 (citing with approval Majure, 167 So. at 638 (finding that manager's statements were made to direct blame away from his wrongdoing and onto a terminated employee and analyzing the case based upon a lack of duty)). Additionally, that the agents might lie to protect themselves could be an anticipated abuse of their authority. Cf. Aversa, 99 F.3d at 1212 (noting that the Department of Justice reasonably could anticipate that an [Assistant U.S. Attorney] entrusted with [the power to inform the public about arrests, indictments, and convictions] might abuse it). 43 Rodriguez also argues that lying serves no legitimate purpose of the ATF and therefore could not be on behalf of the ATF and within the scope of employment. Torts rarely serve the legitimate purposes of any employer. However, as discussed above, acts contrary to the employer's express wishes can be imputed to the employer, and by definition, defamation includes lying. See BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 417 (6th ed. 1990) (defining defamation: An intentional false communication, either published or publicly spoken, that injures another's reputation or good name.). As discussed above, Texas courts have formulated and applied a special rule for defamation by an employee to impute liability to an employer. See, e.g., Texam, 436 S.W.2d 129; Hooper, 895 S.W.2d 773; Ryder Truck Rentals, 593 S.W.2d 334. The existence of these cases and of the Texam Oil defamation rule demonstrates that lying can be imputed to an employer in Texas. 44 Under the Westfall Act, state law determines whether the conduct was within the scope of employment. Garcia, 62 F.3d at 127. Once the conduct is determined to be within the scope of employment, the United States is liable, subject to the limitations of the FTCA, like any other employer. See Westfall Act, Pub.L. No. 100-694, sec. 2(a)(2), 102 Stat. at 4563 (1988) (The United States, through the [FTCA], is responsible to injured persons for the common law torts of its employees in the same manner in which the common law historically has recognized the responsibility of an employer for torts committed by its employees within the scope of their employment.). Therefore, lying may be within the scope of employment of a federal employee under the Westfall Act. 45 Rodriguez's argument that nondefamatory statements made by the defendants were within the scope of employment but defamatory statements made immediately before, after, or between nondefamatory statements are outside the scope of employment does not pass muster under Texas law. Sarabyn and Royster did not alternate between the ATF's business and turning aside from that business as they moved from sentence to sentence in their statements. Their statements to investigators, the press, and other agents were actuated by their duties to the ATF because they were directed by the ATF to speak to the press, the investigators, and other agents. From the stipulated facts, it is at least conceivable that Sarabyn and Royster could have thought misguidedly that they were protecting the ATF, as a whole, from embarrassment at the same time as they were protecting themselves. The ATF was under investigation as much as any one agent in the investigations into the raid. Even though the ATF would not have approved of making false statements to the press, investigators, or other agents, under Texas law, liability would be imputed to the ATF under the circumstances here. The statements made here are of the kind that these agents were authorized and expected to make and were closely connected to the performance of their duties; therefore, as in Texam Oil, Hooper, Houston Transit, and H.T. Cab, the statements are within the scope of their employment. 5 46 We reverse the district court's denial of the motions for certification that Sarabyn and Royster were acting within the scope of their employment by the United States. In relation to the acts alleged in this appeal, Royster was acting within the scope of his employment for the entire period, and Sarabyn was acting within the scope of his employment except during the fifty-four-day period of his termination from the ATF as discussed below. That this decision may result in Rodriguez being deprived of a remedy and Sarabyn and Royster avoiding the consequences of their allegedly tortious actions is unfortunate, if not distasteful, but Congress has chosen to grant immunity to federal employees in this situation. 47