Opinion ID: 201789
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Constitutional Claims Against Federal Defendants.

Text: 14 The plaintiffs try to shoehorn their constitutional claims against the federal defendants into the contours of section 1983. That endeavor has all the hallmarks of a futile gesture: after all, a section 1983 claim normally does not lie against a federal official. See Chatman v. Hernandez, 805 F.2d 453, 455 (1st Cir.1986) (per curiam) (Section 1983 applies to persons acting `under color of state law' and not to persons acting pursuant to federal law.). The plaintiffs allege no facts that might permit a detour around that rule. Cf. Hampton v. Hanrahan, 600 F.2d 600, 623 (7th Cir.1979) (explaining that a section 1983 claim may lie against federal officers when [they] are engaged in a conspiracy with state officials to deprive constitutional rights). 15 Federal officials sometimes can be liable for constitutional torts committed under color of federal law on terms that bear a family resemblance to those that govern section 1983 actions. The doctoral framework was limned by the Supreme Court in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of FBN, 403 U.S. 388, 397, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971). Here, however, even if we give the plaintiffs the benefit of every doubt and recharacterize their claims against the federal defendants as Bivens claims, they would still succumb. 16 The amended complaint's only allegation against the federal defendants is that [HUD] was fully aware of [PRPHA's] absolute disregard of award procedures, and did not correct nor adequately supervise the wrongdoing . . . that it was funding. These bald assertions are fundamentally insufficient to support a Bivens claim. Most importantly, the plaintiffs have failed to connect the federal defendants to the actions central to this case, that is, the alleged debarment, PRPHA's nonresponsible bidder determination, and the 2002 rescission of the Lirios del Sur bid award. Although the amended complaint indicates that HUD may have had some general duty of oversight vis-à-vis PRPHA, it does not allege any legally enforceable connection between HUD and the supposed deprivation of due process on which the plaintiffs' claims depend. Without such a connection, no colorable section 1983 claim exists. 2 17 In all events, the language of the amended complaint indicates that, as to the federal defendants, the plaintiffs are attempting to raise a claim of negligent supervision. Such a claim, if stated, would constitute a tort action within the purview of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671-2680, not a Bivens action. See, e.g., Bolduc v. United States, 402 F.3d 50, 59-62 (1st Cir.2005). Yet the plaintiffs have not sued the United States in tort, nor have they alleged compliance with the administrative prerequisites for an FTCA action. See Cotto v. United States, 993 F.2d 274, 280 (1st Cir.1993) (describing administrative scheme and explaining that [e]xhaustion of plaintiffs' administrative remedies is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the prosecution of their FTCA claims). This omission reinforces our conclusion that the allegations of the amended complaint engender no viable theory of liability against the federal defendants.