C. Federal Torts Claims Act (ftca)

• Library: The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook (CCR) (2021 Ed.)

C. Federal Torts Claims Act (FTCA)

If you are a federal prisoner, or a pretrial or immigration detainee in a federal facility, your best chance for relief may be a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA") because Section 1983 cases are for state prisoners only.

Usually, you cannot sue the United States itself. The FTCA is an exception to this general rule. The FTCA allows federal prisoners and immigration or pretrial detainees in federal jails or facilities to file lawsuits against the United States when a federal employee has injured them.

The most important FTCA provisions are in Title 28 of the United States Code, sections 1346(b), 1402(b), 2401(b) and 2671-2680. When we reference Title 28 in this chapter, it will look like this: "28 U.S.C. § 2679(d)(2)" where "28 U.S.C." means "Title 28 of the United States Code," and the numbers and letters after it refer to a specific section in the code.

FTCA Claims and Qualified Immunity

One of the good things about an FTCA claim is that the United States does not have "qualified immunity." "Qualified immunity" is described in Chapter Four. For both Bivens and Section 1983 claims, the qualified immunity defense makes it hard to win money damages from government officials.

The FTCA only allows you to sue over the "torts" described in Section B of this chapter. You'll find examples of torts in the following section. The FTCA provides a way to sue the U.S. in federal court for torts committed by a federal employee. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b).

You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to obtain relief under the FTCA. There are, however, many more FTCA cases that have been brought by citizen prisoners than noncitizen detainees.

FTCA actions must be brought in federal court, not state court. However, the federal court will use state tort law. Since torts are different from state to state, make sure that the tort you're suing over exists under the law of the state where you are in prison or jail.

1. Who You Can Sue

When you bring a lawsuit using the FTCA , you will name the "United States" as the defendant. You cannot name the specific federal employee who hurt you, or an agency such as the "Bureau of Prisons." Although you will name the United States as the defendant in your FTCA suit, you will discuss the actions of a specific federal employee.

The FTCA only allows you to sue over actions by federal officials or employees. This means you can't sue over the actions of a state or local law enforcement agent. You also can't sue about an independent contractor under the FTCA unless federal employees directly supervised the day-to-day activities of the contractors. Figuring out whether someone is a contractor or federal employee can be tricky, but you should look to the standard set out in the Supreme Court case, United States v. Orleans, 425 U.S. 807 (1976). Most courts decide the question by looking at facts like who owned the tools used by the contractor and who paid the salary, worker's compensation, and insurance of the employee. In one good case, a prisoner succeeded in an FTCA case arising from a fever outbreak at a prison owned by the Bureau of Prisons but operated by a private prison company. The United States defended the case by arguing that the private contractor—not the United States—was responsible. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying that the Bureau of Prisons had a duty to warn prisoners about the risks of valley fever. Edison v. United States, 822 F.3d 510 (9th Cir. 2016).

The FTCA is most useful for people held in federal immigration detention centers, or federal jails or prisons. But if you are a federal detainee injured in a state, county, or local jail you may also be able to bring a claim against the United States under the FTCA for...