Opinion ID: 78456
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Plaintiffs' claims brought under the TVPA

Text: Plaintiffs allege the same operative facts that gave rise to ATS violations also gave rise to TVPA violations. It is not uncommon for plaintiffs to assert ATS and TVPA claims together. See, e.g., Romero, 552 F.3d at 1309 (asserting ATS and TVPA claims based on the same operative facts); Aldana, 416 F.3d at 1246 (same); Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254 (2d Cir.2007) (same); Beanal v. Freeport-McMoran, Inc., 197 F.3d 161 (5th Cir.1999) (same). The district court determined there was no subject matter jurisdiction for the ATS claims, and because ATS jurisdiction was lacking, the court concluded the TVPA claims also failed for want of subject matter jurisdiction. Sinaltrainal II, 474 F.Supp.2d at 1301 (Claims for torture may be entertained [under the TVPA] only if they fall within the jurisdiction conferred by the AT[S].). We conclude the district court erred in dismissing the TVPA claims for want of subject matter jurisdiction because jurisdiction over the TVPA claims is conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 1331 in this case. See Romero, 552 F.3d at 1315. Therefore our inquiry is not whether subject matter jurisdiction is lacking, but whether the TVPA claims state a claim for relief. [19] In other words, relief from a complaint that fails to sufficiently plead the elements of a TVPA claim should be raised in a motion filed under Rule 12(b)(6), rather than 12(b)(1). See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 96, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 1013, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (explaining the nonexistence of a cause of action was no proper basis for a jurisdictional dismissal); see also Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 415 (5th Cir. May 20, 1981) (Judicial economy is best promoted when the existence of a federal right is directly reached and, where no claim is found to exist, the case is dismissed on the merits.). To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted on the TVPA claims, Plaintiffs must sufficiently allege (1) the paramilitaries were state actors or were sufficiently connected to the Colombian government so they were acting under color of law and (2) the Defendants, or their agents, conspired with the state actors, or those acting under color of law, in carrying out the state-sponsored torture. See 28 U.S.C. § 1350 note § 2(a). Plaintiffs failed to do so. As discussed above, the Gil, Galvis, and Leal plaintiffs fail to sufficiently plead the paramilitary forces were acting under color of law. Mere toleration of the paramilitary forces does not transform such forces' acts into state acts, Aldana, 416 F.3d at 1248; moreover there are no allegations the Colombian government was aware of, much less complicit in, the murder and torture Plaintiffs allege in their complaints. Additionally, the Garcia plaintiffs fail to sufficiently allege the Panamco Defendants, or their agents, conspired with the local police in carrying out the alleged torture. The Garcia plaintiffs' vague and conclusory allegations of a conspiracy do not state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face, see Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950, and they fail to detail any factual allegations to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. at 1965. We, therefore, vacate the district court's dismissal of the TVPA claims for want of jurisdiction and instruct the court to dismiss the TVPA claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.