Opinion ID: 1192522
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Absence of Civil Statute

Text: In refusing to recognize an embracery tort, the federal district court stated: We acknowledge that defendant had a duty not to make contact with jurors outside of open court. But, plaintiff has not argued that this duty, as codified in the Kansas and federal criminal statutes, creates a private right of action. Nor do we believe a private right of action can be based on the criminal statutes or any court rule. Howell also argues in his brief that the federal criminal embracery statute, not the state criminal embracery statute, applies to his conduct and that a private civil right of action for damages does not arise out of this federal statute. OMI points out, however, that its cause of action is not based on an implied right of action arising from any statute. Instead, the plaintiff contends that Kansas should recognize a tort action for embracery arising out of the common law. Several federal cases have found that an embracery cause of action cannot be brought as an implied right of action under the federal embracery statute. Odell v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 201 F.2d 123 (10th Cir. 1953). However, the district court found that Kansas substantive law should apply, both statutory law and common law. In order for this court to recognize a civil embracery action, it does not need to arise as an implied right of action from an existing statute. Instead, if this court should recognize an embracery tort, the court should recognize the action as arising from the general body of law in Kansas known as the common law. See Mainelli v. Providence Journal Company, 207 F. Supp. 453 (D.R.I. 1962), aff'd in part and vacated in part on other grounds 312 F.2d 3 (1st Cir. 1962) (finding that while 18 U.S.C. § 1503, which prohibits jury tampering, does not create a federal cause of action for civil damages, a cause of action for civil damages may still exist under state law from statute or common law). Thus, it is irrelevant that Kansas does not have a civil statute prohibiting juror contacts or a criminal law from which an implied right of embracery could arise. An embracery tort could arise simply from the common law. We hold it does not.