Court Opinion

ID: 9471817
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:41:47.536058+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:35.567899
License: Public Domain

CARDAMONE, Circuit Judge:
I concur in the result but write separately because I respectfully disagree with the majority’s reasoning on the standard to be applied in determining whether the immigration officials’ acts were privileged.
In Caban I we rejected the Government’s assertion that the “discretionary function exception” to the FTCA barred Caban’s claim. And, although we refused to decide the “difficult” issue of the standard applicable to border detentions, 671 F.2d at 1235, we did state that the “language [of § 1225(b) and 8 C.F.R. § 235.1] goes only to *76the standard of care by which the INS employees' behavior is judged.” Id. at 1233. We further noted that, “[it] may very well be that because of the broad power given the immigration authorities, on these facts it will be very difficult for appellant to prove that a tort was committed.” Id. at 1235. These views expressed just over a year ago in Caban I should be the basis for our decision now to affirm the dismissal of Caban’s complaint.
Instead, the majority begins its analysis by correctly noting our duty under the FTCA to apply the whole law of the state where the incident took place. Lambertson v. United States, 528 F.2d 441, 443 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 921, 96 S.Ct. 2627, 49 L.Ed.2d 374 (1976). But then the majority continues — in my view mistakenly — to establish the proper standard of conduct for the INS officials by an application of the statutory phrases “private person” and “in like circumstances” found in 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b) & 2674. The majority concludes not only that the FTCA strips the government of its sovereign immunity, but also that the reference to “private person” strips the agent of his status as an immigration officer for purposes of determining the vicarious liability of the United States government. Having viewed the agent in this light under New York law, the majority then promptly clothes him — and through him the government — with a privilege by stating that here there are not “like circumstances”.
In the process of reaching its ultimate conclusion that the federal statutes and regulations establish the appropriate standard for privilege, the majority looks to Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152 (1950). This seems ill-advised since Feres and its progeny have been limited largely to questions regarding the federal government’s waiver of sovereign immunity in cases where servicemen bring suit against the government for service-related acts. See e.g., Rayonier Inc. v. United States, 352 U.S. 315, 77 S.Ct. 374, 1 L.Ed.2d 354 (1957). In those limited circumstances the Supreme Court fashioned an FTCA exception, based on special policy considerations applicable to the military, and found no waiver of sovereign immunity. The Feres doctrine plainly does not deal with substantive tort law principles, but is concerned solely with the initial question of whether the government has waived its sovereign immunity as to a certain group of plaintiffs. Only after resolving the waiver issue — a threshold jurisdictional question — should the applicable law be considered.
Congress clearly designed 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h) to give injured citizens recourse against the federal government in Bivens type situations. See, e.g., S.Rep. No. 588, 93d Cong., 2nd Sess. (1973), reprinted in 1974 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2789. Thus, there is now no doubt that Congress has waived sovereign immunity when the government employee is a law enforcement official acting within the scope of his authority. Townsend v. Carmel, 494 F.Supp. 30, 36-37 (D.D.C.1980). Accordingly, looking to Feres for guidance seems singularly inappropriate in determining whether state or federal law applies.
Further, it would be anomalous to apply the same state tort standards to determine the government’s liability for the acts of INS officials as we apply to “private persons” acting in a wholly different capacity. The phrase “private person” is not defined in the legislative history. But it does not mean courts are to ignore at the outset the context in which the alleged tort was committed, compelling the kind of complex reasoning in which the majority has been obliged to engage. A simpler approach, and therefore preferable in my opinion, would be to view the language in §§ 1346(b) and 2674 as relating solely to the issue of waiver of sovereign immunity. The term “private person” in the statute refers solely to the United States, and merely serves to subject the sovereign to ordinary respondeat superi- or principles. Similarly, the “in like circumstances” language seems to refer essentially to the employer-employee relationship, not the specific task being performed by the federal agent.
*77The government has urged that the Supremacy Clause requires the application of federal standards of privilege in this case. This seems the preferable path to follow. The FTCA directs us to state law. And, in Richards v. United States, 369 U.S. 1, 10-15, 82 S.Ct. 585, 591-594, 7 L.Ed.2d 492 (1962), the Supreme Court held that because the “whole law” of the state applies in FTCA actions, the state’s choice of law rules must also apply. Because the “whole law” of the state must include applicable federal law, see Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 4, comment b (1971), the Supremacy Clause requires that the INS regulations govern here where the INS officials were acting pursuant to federal statutes in the exercise of an inherently federal function (border protection). Under this line of reasoning, courts should apply the law that a local state court would apply, Richardson v. United States, 645 F.2d 731, 732 (9th Cir.1981), and apply federal law if a state court would do so. Bilderback v. United States, 558 F.Supp. 903, 908 (D.Or. 1982). See also Hess v. United States, 361 U.S. 314, 318, 80 S.Ct. 341, 345, 4 L.Ed.2d 305 (1960) (where court applied federal maritime law in an FTCA case). In United States v. Muniz, 374 U.S. 150, 164-65, 83 S.Ct. 1850, 1858-59, 10 L.Ed.2d 805 (1963), a negligence action by prisoners against prison officials, the Court found that “the duty of care owed by the Bureau of Prisons to federal prisoners is fixed by 18 U.S.C. § 4042, independent of an inconsistent state rule.” (footnote omitted). Similarly, in Ingham v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 373 F.2d 227 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 931, 88 S.Ct. 295, 19 L.Ed.2d 292 (1967), we held that federal FAA regulations established the standard for judging the conduct of FAA air traffic controllers under the FTCA. See Maltais v. United States, 546 F.Supp. 96, 101 (N.D.N.Y.1982) (application of state statutory strict liability to government contractors despite federal statute permitting delegation of safety responsibility “would encroach on the dictates of the Supremacy Clause.”); Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. United States, 462 F.Supp. 1193, 1215 (E.D.Cal.1978) (court bound to apply preemptive federal common law in FTCA action).
Thus, we, like a New York court, should apply that rule applicable to one who is serving as an INS official. Since the Supremacy Clause is easier to grasp and apply than the majority rationale it would tend to result in more uniformity in similar intentional tort claims brought against the federal government for the acts of its law enforcement officials. The potential for dislocation of the federal government’s normal functions were federal officials to be held liable under the FTCA in cases where they had complied with applicable federal regulations is plain. Under the majority’s reasoning the potential for disruption will be great in those cases where courts find that the relationship of plaintiff to the federal official is “like” one in the private area. This potential is exacerbated because the opposing argument that a government employee is never truly identical to a private person can usually also be raised. Adopting a Supremacy Clause analysis avoids these unsettling problems and provides a more logical and workable basis for the result we reach here.