Opinion ID: 363137
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Dismissal of Counterclaims and Third-Party Claims

Text: 52 The Hunts have cross-appealed from that portion of the district court's order which denied their counterclaims against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and their third-party claims against Commissioner Bagley and unknown employees of the Commission for damages. These claims were based on the Commission's allegedly wrongful disclosure of the Hunt's soybean trading positions. The Commission published this information pursuant to section 8a(6) of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. § 12a(6) (1976) which authorizes the Commission to publish the full facts concerning any transaction or market operation, including the names of parties thereto, which in the judgment of the Commission disrupts or tends to disrupt any market or is otherwise harmful or against the best interests of producers and consumers. Id. We sustain the result reached in the lower court. 53 Without explicit authority, or unless the agency is the offspring of a suable entity, an agency of the federal government cannot be sued Eo nomine for damages. Blackmar v. Guerre, 342 U.S. 512, 72 S.Ct. 410, 96 L.Ed. 534 (1952). See also Bell v. Groark, 371 F.2d 202 (7th Cir. 1966). Congress did not write such authority into the Commodity Exchange Act. Thus, the Hunts' counterclaim against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as an entity cannot be maintained. 54 The Hunts' third-party claims against Bagley and the unnamed employees of the Commission also fail. First, these parties were impleaded improperly by the Hunts. Fed.R.Civ.P. 14(a) authorizes the impleader of a person only when that person is or may be liable to (the defendant) for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against him. Clearly the Commission employees who are the subject of the Hunts' third-party complaint are not liable for the Hunts' violation of the soybean trading limits. And this was the only claim brought by the plaintiff-Commission against the Hunts. Thus, Bagley and the unknown employees of the Commission cannot be brought before the court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 14(a). 55 More fundamentally, the Commission actions which are the substance of the Hunts' claims publishing the Hunt family's positions in the soybean futures market were clearly within the scope of the official duties of Commissioner Bagley and the other Commission employees. See Commodity Exchange Act § 8a(6), 7 U.S.C. § 12a(6) (1976). Thus, the third-party defendants enjoy immunity from the Hunts' damage claims. Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978); Barr v. Matteo, 360 U.S. 564, 79 S.Ct. 1335, 3 L.Ed.2d 1434 (1959); Expeditions Unlimited Aquatic Enterprises, Inc. v. Smithsonian Inst., 184 U.S.App.D.C. 397, 566 F.2d 289 (1977) (En banc ). 56 Accordingly, we remand this case for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. 57