Ingram v. Faruque ( 2013 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
PUBLISH Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS September 6, 2013
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
DELBERT INGRAM,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
HASHIB D. FARUQUE, M.D.; YAN
FENG, M.D.; DAVID WOOD, DONNA No. 11-6341
DELISE; KYLE INHOFE; LT.
MICHAEL STEVENSON; CAPTAIN
TIM COLLINS; DEPARTMENT OF
VETERAN AFFAIRS,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Oklahoma
(D.C. No. 5:11-CV-00188-C)
Eric D. Cotton, The Cotton Law Firm, PLLC, Edmond, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-
Appellant.
Suzanne Mitchell, Assistant United States Attorney (Sanford C. Coats, United States
Attorney, and Laura M. Grimes, Assistant United States Attorney, with her on the brief),
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendants-Appellees.
Before MATHESON, EBEL, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
EBEL, Circuit Judge.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff-Appellant Delbert Ingram appeals from a district court’s dismissal of his
claims against Defendants-Appellees (“Defendants”). Mr. Ingram sued Defendants-
Appellees—Dr. Hashib D. Faruque, Dr. Yan Feng, Donna Delise, Kyle Inhofe,
Lt. Michael Stevenson, and Captain Tim Collins1— claiming that Defendants had
violated his rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by
holding him in a psychiatric ward for over twenty-four hours without his consent.
Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing that, among other things, the district court
lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action, because the Federal Tort Claims Act
(“FTCA”) provided the sole remedy for Mr. Ingram’s claims, and that the court therefore
should not authorize a judicial remedy under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403
U.S. 388 (1971). Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).
1
Mr. Ingram also initially named as defendants David Wood, director of the Oklahoma
City Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in his official capacity, and the
Department of Veteran Affairs, but he later voluntarily dismissed these two parties.
2
The district court agreed that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Mr.
Ingram’s claims, and therefore granted Defendants’ motions to dismiss. Specifically, the
court concluded that Mr. Ingram had a remedy available under 38 U.S.C. § 7316 (“VA
Immunity Statute”), which applies the remedy available against the United States under
the FTCA to damages arising from the provision of medical services by health care
employees of the Veteran’s Administration (“VA”). Because of the availability of a
remedy under the VA Immunity Statute, it concluded that Mr. Ingram did not have a
cause of action under Bivens.
Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm on the basis that Mr.
Ingram has, or has had, an adequate alternative remedy available through the VA
Immunity Statute and the FTCA,2 and it is therefore not appropriate to authorize a Bivens
remedy for Mr. Ingram. Accordingly, the district court did not err in ruling that it lacked
subject matter jurisdiction over Mr. Ingram’s claims.
BACKGROUND
I. Factual Background
2
Plaintiff did not assert a claim under the FTCA and therefore the district court did not
express any opinion whether Mr. Ingram’s potential FTCA claim might now be barred
for procedural or timeliness reasons, or otherwise. Likewise, we do not address that
issue.
3
Mr. Ingram is an employee at the Oklahoma City Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center (“VAMC”). At the time of the incidents resulting in this appeal, VAMC
police received a report from one of Mr. Ingram’s coworkers, stating that Mr. Ingram had
said that he had been thinking about killing his supervisor. Defendant Captain Collins
(VAMC’s Assistant Chief of Police) reported the threat to Dr. Nasreen Bukhari (not a
party to this action), who recommended that Mr. Ingram receive a psychiatric assessment.
Dr. Bukhari informed Defendant Inhofe (VAMC’s Chief of Human Resources) and
Defendant Delise (VAMC’s Acting Assistant Director) of the situation. Mr. Inhofe and
Ms. Delise decided to talk to Mr. Ingram about the reported threat and ask him to go to
the Emergency Room for evaluation, in accordance with Dr. Bukhari’s instructions. Mr.
Ingram agreed to go to the emergency room with Mr. Inhofe and Ms. Delise. Captain
Collins directed Defendant Lt. Stevenson (a VAMC police officer) to escort Mr. Inhofe,
Ms. Delise, and Mr. Ingram to the emergency room.
In the emergency room, Mr. Inhofe and Ms. Delise accompanied Mr. Ingram to a
padded isolation room. Subsequently, another physician, Dr. Karunesh Singhal (not a
party to this action) filled out an affidavit stating that Mr. Ingram “has threatened to
assault his supervisor and in my evaluation is having homicidal ideation,” and that on that
basis, Mr. Ingram was sufficiently ill “that immediate emergency action [was]
necessary.” Aplt. App. at 78. When Mr. Ingram attempted to leave the emergency room,
4
Lt. Stevenson informed him that, although he was not under arrest, he was not free to
leave the emergency room. Mr. Ingram asserts that Lt. Stevenson said this “with his hand
on his firearm,” and that after making this statement, Lt. Stevenson shut and locked the
door to the isolation room. Aplt. Br. 4.
Mr. Inhofe and Ms. Delise waited with Mr. Ingram until Defendant Dr. Faruque (a
VAMC staff psychiatrist) arrived. After Dr. Faruque arrived, he examined Mr. Ingram.
During the examination, Mr. Ingram admitted saying something about “doing foolish
things to [his supervisor],” but denied having the intent to hurt or kill her. Aplt. App. at
104. Dr. Faruque’s report following the examination recommended “[i]npatient
admission to provide safe environment and further assessment.”3 Aplt. App. at 104. Mr.
3
Mr. Ingram claims that Dr. Faruque informed Mr. Ingram that even though he “found
that Plaintiff’s thought content had no suicidal, violent or paranoid ideations, Defendant
Faruque informed Plaintiff ‘in order to save my job and clear your name, I am going to
have to commit you to the psychiatric ward.’” Aplt. App. at 10. Mr. Ingram further
contends that Dr. Faruque told him that “[a]s of this moment you have no say in this
matter, you have no rights,” and that “[y]ou are either going voluntarily or by force.” Id.
at 10-11. While Dr. Faruque’s report following the examination did state that Mr.
Ingram’s “[t]hought content has no suicidal, violent or paranoid ideations,” the report
also recommended intake for further assessment, Id. at 104, and his affidavit before the
district court stated that he “determined that, because of the severity of the reported
threats and his obvious agitation, Mr. Ingram required a more thorough psychiatric
evaluation than I could perform in the limited time available to me in the Emergency
Room setting,” id. at 102.
5
Ingram agreed to be admitted for further evaluation. Dr. Faruque’s report states that he
shared this plan with Dr. Singhal, and that he “emphasized that [Mr. Ingram] is not to
leave [the] ER except for transfer to [the psychiatric ward],” and “suggested that [Mr.
Ingram] be transferred from [the] ER to [the psychiatric ward] under police escort.” Id.
at 105.
After arriving in the psychiatric ward, Defendant Dr. Feng (another VAMC staff
psychiatrist) interviewed Mr. Ingram for the inpatient admission evaluation. Mr. Ingram
denied making threats about his supervisor and stated that he wished to leave the hospital.
But Dr. Feng informed Mr. Ingram that “because of the report of the threat and the Third
Party Affidavit [signed by Dr. Singhal], [she] was obligated to conduct an investigation
to determine whether he and other people would be safe if he were discharged from the
hospital.” Id. at 106. She told Mr. Ingram that he could voluntarily sign himself in for
assessment, or that she would initiate the paperwork to obtain an Emergency Order of
Detention.
After this conversation, Mr. Ingram agreed to admit himself to the hospital, and
signed a voluntary consent form. But subsequently, although he repeatedly requested to
leave, Mr. Ingram was held in the psychiatric ward for over twenty-four hours before
being medically cleared and released.
II. Procedural Background
6
Mr. Ingram subsequently filed an action against Defendants in their individual
capacities. He asserted that they had collectively violated his rights under the Fourth and
Fifth Amendments by detaining him against his will, and he sought a remedy.
Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing that, among other things, the court lacked
subject matter jurisdiction over Mr. Ingram’s claims. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).
A primary argument of the Defendants was that Mr. Ingram should not be
permitted to pursue a cause of action under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403
U.S. 388 (1971), because under the VA Immunity Statute, the FTCA provided the sole
remedy for his claims. The district court agreed, concluding that Mr. Ingram’s claims fell
under the VA Immunity Statute, and that he therefore could not bring an action under
Bivens. Accordingly, it ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Mr. Ingram’s
claims, and dismissed the claims against all Defendants without prejudice. Within thirty
days, Mr. Ingram filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied by the district
court. Mr. Ingram timely appeals.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Rule 12(b)(1) motions can take the form of either a “facial” or a “factual” attack
on the court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Stuart v. Colo. Interstate Gas Co., 271 F.3d
1221, 1225 (10th Cir. 2001). Where the party challenging subject-matter jurisdiction
mounts a facial attack, “the district court must accept the allegations in the complaint as
7
true.” Id. But if the challenging party brings a factual attack by “go[ing] beyond
allegations contained in the complaint and challeng[ing] the facts upon which subject
matter jurisdiction is based . . . [the] court has wide discretion to allow affidavits, other
documents, and a limited evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed jurisdictional facts.” Id.(internal quotation marks omitted). Here, the district court determined that it would
“consider the materials appended to the parties’ briefs,” Aplt. App. at 166; thus, we will
treat this as a factual attack and likewise consider the materials presented by the parties to
the district court.
“We review de novo . . . the district court’s determination of subject-matter
jurisdiction . . . .” Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (Hybognathus Amarus) v. Bureau of
Reclamation, 599 F.3d 1165, 1175 (10th Cir. 2010). Moreover, “[w]e review the
[district] court’s findings of jurisdictional facts for clear error,” and “[a] finding is clearly
erroneous when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire
evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.”
Id. (second alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). But we will “view
the evidence in the light most favorable to the district court’s ruling.” Id. (internal
quotation marks omitted). Thus, “[i]f the district court’s account of the evidence is
plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, the court of appeals may not
reverse.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).
8
DISCUSSION
In Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403
U.S. 388 (1971), the U.S. Supreme “Court recognized for the first time an implied private
action for damages against federal officers alleged to have violated a citizen’s
constitutional rights.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 675 (2009) (internal quotation
marks omitted). In Bivens, the Court “held that a victim of a Fourth Amendment
violation by federal officers may bring suit for money damages against the officers in
federal court.” Corr. Servs. Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61, 66 (2001) (citing Bivens, 403
U.S. 388). Following Bivens, the Supreme Court has authorized actions under Bivens on
only two occasions: first, the Court authorized a cause of action under Bivens to redress a
violation of the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth
Amendment, see Davis v. Passman, 442 U.S. 228 (1979), and second, the Court
authorized a Bivens remedy for the estate of a prisoner who had allegedly died as the
result of government officials’ deliberate indifference to his medical needs, in violation
of his rights under the Eighth Amendment, see Carlson v. Green, 446 U.S. 14 (1980).
But since the Supreme Court’s last decision to authorize a Bivens remedy in 1980,
the Court has “refused to extend Bivens liability to any new context or new category of
defendants.” Malesko, 534 U.S. at 68. Indeed, even though the “Court has had to decide
in several different instances whether to imply a Bivens action[,] . . . in each instance it
9
has decided against the existence of such an action.” Minneci v. Pollard, 132 S. Ct. 617,
622 (2012).
The standards for determining whether a Bivens remedy is appropriate have
evolved over time. In Green, the Court explained that a Bivens action is available unless
(1) “defendants demonstrate special factors counselling hesitation in the absence of
affirmative action by Congress,” or (2) “defendants show that Congress has provided an
alternative remedy which it explicitly declared to be a substitute for recovery directly
under the Constitution and viewed as equally effective.” 446 U.S. at 18–19 (emphasis
omitted). But since Green, the Supreme Court has relaxed these requirements, and has
declined to fashion a Bivens remedy, even where statutory remedies may not be equally
effective.
For instance, in Bush v. Lucas, the Court explained that the question whether a
Bivens cause of action is available “cannot be answered simply by noting that existing
remedies do not provide complete relief for the plaintiff.” 462 U.S. 367, 388 (1983). In
Bush, even though the Court “assum[ed] . . . a federal right ha[d] been violated and
Congress ha[d] provided a less than complete remedy for the wrong,” id. at 373, the
Court declined to fashion a Bivens remedy for a federal employee who claimed that his
superior had violated his rights under the First Amendment, id. at 368. The Court held
that because the claim at issue “ar[o]se out of an employment relationship that [was]
10
governed by comprehensive procedural and substantive provisions giving meaningful
remedies against the United States, it would be inappropriate for [the] Court to
supplement that regulatory scheme with a new nonstatutory damages remedy.” Id. at
367.
Similarly, in Schweiker v. Chilicky, the Court stated that “[t]he absence of
statutory relief for a constitutional violation . . . does not by any means necessarily imply
that courts should award money damages against the officers responsible for the
violation.” 487 U.S. 412, 421-22 (1988). Indeed, the Court held that “the concept of
‘special factors counselling hesitation in the absence of affirmative action by Congress’
has proved to include an appropriate judicial deference to indications that congressional
inaction has not been inadvertent.” Id. at 423. Accordingly, it declined to authorize a
Bivens remedy to address the improper denial of Social Security disability benefits, id. at
414, even though the Court acknowledged that “Congress ha[d] failed to provide for
‘complete relief,’” id. at 425, and “[t]he creation of a Bivens remedy would obviously
offer the prospect of relief for injuries that must now go unredressed,” id.Consistent with Bush and Schweiker, in its recent jurisprudence, the Supreme
Court has generally prescribed two steps to apply when determining whether to recognize
a Bivens remedy. See Wilkie v. Robbins, 551 U.S. 537, 550 (2007); accord Minneci, 132
S. Ct. at 623. First, “[t]here is the question whether any alternative, existing process for
11
protecting the interest amounts to a convincing reason for the Judicial Branch to refrain
from providing a new and freestanding remedy in damages.” Wilkie, 551 U.S. at 550.
Second, “even in the absence of an alternative, a Bivens remedy is a subject of
judgment;” and therefore “the federal courts must make the kind of remedial
determination that is appropriate for a common-law tribunal, paying particular heed . . . to
any special factors counseling hesitation before authorizing a new kind of federal
litigation.” Id.In determining whether there is a Bivens remedy available to Mr. Ingram, we will
first consider whether the VA Immunity Statute provides an alternative, existing process
that amounts to a convincing reason to refrain from creating a new Bivens remedy. We
conclude that it does; specifically, we hold that the text of the VA Immunity Statute
creates an exclusive remedy that precludes a Bivens claim. We then consider whether
Mr. Ingram’s claims fall within the scope of the VA Immunity Statute, such that he is
precluded from bringing a cause of action under Bivens. We conclude that they do.
Mr. Ingram therefore may not pursue a cause of action under Bivens. Accordingly, we
need not consider whether there are other “special factors counselling hesitation before
authorizing” a Bivens remedy. See id.I. The VA Immunity Statute Provides an Alternative, Existing Process That
Precludes a Bivens Remedy
12
Mr. Ingram argues that he should be allowed to pursue a cause of action under
Bivens, because he contends that Defendants held him against his will in violation of his
rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. But the district
court determined that the VA Immunity Statute provided Mr. Ingram with a remedy for
his claims, such that he did not have available a cause of action under Bivens. This
section will first set out the legal framework for analyzing the VA Immunity Statute, and
will then consider whether the Statute precludes a cause of action under Bivens.
A. The VA Immunity Statute
As context for analyzing the VA Immunity Statute, “[t]he doctrine of sovereign
immunity prohibits suits against the United States except in those instances in which it
has specifically consented to be sued.” Fent v. Okla. Water Res. Bd., 235 F.3d 553, 556
(10th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation marks omitted). “The FTCA constitutes a limited
waiver of the federal government’s sovereign immunity from private suit.” Estate of
Trentadue ex rel. Aguilar v. United States, 397 F.3d 840, 852 (10th Cir. 2005). “When
federal employees are sued for damages for harms caused in the course of their
employment, the [FTCA] generally authorizes substitution of the United States as the
defendant.” Hui v. Castaneda, 559 U.S. 799, 130 S. Ct. 1845, 1848 (2010) (citation
omitted). And “[t]he prerequisite for liability under the FTCA is a ‘negligent or wrongful
act or omission of any employee of the [Government] while acting within the scope of his
13
office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person,
would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or
omission occurred.’” Id. at 1853 n.8 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)). In other words, the
FTCA allows the United States to be sued for claims arising out of negligent or wrongful
acts or omissions of its employees, when such employees are acting within the scope of
their duties. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1).
The VA Immunity Statute applies the remedy available against the United States
under the FTCA to damages arising from the provision of medical services by health care
employees of the VA. See 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(1), (f). Section 7316(a)(1) states:
The remedy . . . against the United States provided by sections 1346(b) and
2672 of title 28 . . . for damages for personal injury, including death,
allegedly arising from malpractice or negligence of a health care employee
of the Administration in furnishing health care or treatment while in the
exercise of that employee’s duties in or for the Administration shall be
exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding by reason of the same
subject matter against the health care employee (or employee’s estate)
whose act or omission gave rise to such claim.
38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(1).
There are some exceptions to the FTCA’s waiver of sovereign immunity.
Specifically, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h) states that the provisions of the FTCA
shall not apply to . . . [a]ny claim arising out of assault, battery, false
imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel,
slander, misrepresentation, deceit, or interference with contract rights . . . .
14
28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). Thus, under the general provisions of the FTCA, the United States
cannot be sued for claims arising out of these enumerated intentional torts. See id. But
in the context of the VA Immunity Statute, § 7316(f) states:
The exception provided in section 2680(h) of title 28 shall not apply to any
claim arising out of a negligent or wrongful act or omission of any person
described in subsection (a) in furnishing medical care or treatment
(including medical care or treatment furnished in the course of a clinical
study or investigation) while in the exercise of such person’s duties in or
for the Administration.
38 U.S.C. § 7316(f). In other words, “§ 2680(h) does not bar application of the FTCA to
[intentional] tort claims arising out of the conduct of VA medical personnel within the
scope of” 38 U.S.C. §7316(f). Franklin v. United States, 992 F.2d 1492, 1502 (10th Cir.
1993).4
B. The VA Immunity Statute Provides an Exclusive Remedy
We now consider whether the VA Immunity Statute provides an alternative,
existing process that amounts to a convincing reason to refrain from creating a new
4
In Franklin, we analyzed 38 U.S.C. § 4116, which is the precursor to the statute at issue
in this case (38 U.S.C. § 7316). 992 F.2d at 1500 n.8, 1502 (explaining that “§ 4116 was
repealed and reenacted as § 7316,” and that “[t]he version set out under the new
designation includes no pertinent substantive changes”). But the relevant language that
was formerly contained in § 4116(a) is substantially similar to the language currently
contained in §7316(a); thus, our holding in Franklin applies equally to 38 U.S.C. § 7316.
15
Bivens remedy. We conclude that the Statute provides an exclusive remedy that
precludes the creation of a remedy under Bivens.
In our analysis, there are two relevant provisions of the VA Immunity Statute at
issue—§ 7316(a)(1) and § 7316(f). We will consider each in turn.
1. Section § 7316(a)(1)
The Supreme Court has determined that language similar to that contained in
§ 7316(a)(1) creates an exclusive cause of action that precludes a Bivens remedy. In Hui,
the Supreme Court concluded that 42 U.S.C. § 233(a) precluded a Bivens action against
U.S. Public Health Service (“PHS”) personnel. 130 S. Ct. at 1848. In relevant part,
§ 233(a) provides:
The remedy against the United States provided by sections 1346(b) and
2672 of Title 28 . . . for damage for personal injury, including death,
resulting from the performance of medical, surgical, dental, or related
functions, including the conduct of clinical studies or investigation, by any
commissioned officer or employee of the Public Health Service while
acting within the scope of his office or employment, shall be exclusive of
any other civil action or proceeding by reason of the same subject-matter
against the officer or employee (or his estate) whose act or omission gave
rise to the claim.
42 U.S.C. § 233(a).
As background, in Hui, a man was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement at the San Diego Correctional Facility. 130 S. Ct. at 1848. While there, he
sought a biopsy for a lesion, but a biopsy was never provided. Id. at 1848–89. After his
16
release from prison, later biopsy results confirmed that the detainee was suffering from
cancer, and after unsuccessful treatment, he died. Id. at 1849.
Before his death, the detainee brought a cause of action under Bivens, suing PHS
personnel for a violation of his constitutional rights. Id. at 1849. PHS personnel moved
to dismiss on the grounds that Ҥ 233(a) g[a]ve[] them absolute immunity from Bivens
actions by making a suit against the United States under the FTCA the exclusive remedy
for harms caused by PHS personnel in the course of their medical or related duties.” Id.
at 1849-50. The district court denied the motion, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Id. at
1850. Among other things, the Ninth Circuit applied the holding in Green that “a Bivens
remedy is unavailable only when an alternative remedy is both expressly declared to be a
substitute and can be viewed as equally effective,” and concluded that “§ 233(a) d[id] not
expressly make the remedy under the FTCA a substitute for relief under Bivens.” Id.
Moreover, “[f]or essentially the reasons given in [Green], the [Ninth Circuit] Court of
Appeals also determined that the FTCA remedy is not equally effective as a Bivens
remedy.” Id. (citation omitted).
The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decision, holding that the text of
§ 233(a) precluded a Bivens action against petitioners. Id. at 1855. Specifically, the
Court concluded that § “233(a) makes the FTCA remedy against the United States
‘exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding’ for any personal injury caused by a
17
PHS officer or employee performing a medical or related function ‘while acting within
the scope of his office or employment,’” and it held that “[b]ased on the plain language of
§ 233(a) . . . PHS officers and employees are not personally subject to Bivens actions for
harms arising out of such conduct.” Id. at 1848.
In this case, the language of 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(1) mirrors the language of §
233(a). Both 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a) and 42 U.S.C. § 233(a) state that, under these
provisions, “[t]he remedy against the United States provided by sections 1346(b) and
2672 of title 28 . . . shall be exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding by reason of
the same subject-matter against the . . . employee . . . whose act or omission gave rise to
[the] claim.” 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(1) (emphases added); accord 42 U.S.C. § 233(a). In
Hui, the Court stated:
By its terms, § 233(a) limits recovery for such conduct to suits against the
United States. The breadth of the words “exclusive” and “any” supports
this reading, as does the provision’s inclusive reference to all civil
proceedings arising out of “the same subject-matter.”
130 S. Ct. at 1851. The same is true here; the wording of § 7316(a)(1) indicates that the
VA Immunity Statute is an exclusive remedy.
Mr. Ingram argues the Supreme Court’s holding in Carlson v. Green requires that
he be allowed to proceed with a cause of action under Bivens. In Green, a respondent
sued on behalf of her deceased son’s estate, alleging that he had died from injuries
18
inflicted by federal prison officials in violation of his rights under the Eighth
Amendment. 446 U.S. at 16. In authorizing a cause of action under Bivens, the Court
rejected prison officials’ argument that the remedy available under the FTCA precluded
respondent’s Bivens claim. Id. at 19-20. Although both Green and Mr. Ingram’s case
involve the question whether the remedy available under the FTCA precludes a Bivens
claim, Green does not control this case.
Green’s claim against federal prison officials for alleged violations of his Eighth
Amendment rights did not implicate the VA Immunity Statute. Thus, the Court in Green
was not considering the VA Immunity Statute when it determined that the FTCA did not
foreclose a cause of action under Bivens. And, the Supreme Court recognized in Hui that
some statutory provisions may make the FTCA an exclusive remedy, such that it is not
appropriate for courts to authorize a cause of action under Bivens. 130 S. Ct. at 1848.
Thus, although there may be circumstances where the availability of a remedy under the
FTCA may not foreclose a Bivens action, Green, 446 U.S. at 19–20, other statutory
provisions relating to the FTCA do preclude such a remedy. The Supreme Court has held
that one such provision is 42 U.S.C. § 233(a). Hui, 130 S. Ct. at 1855. Similarly, we
hold that § 7316(a)(1) makes the VA Immunity Statute an exclusive remedy and
therefore precludes a claim under Bivens.
2. Section § 7316(f)
19
Section 7316(f) expands § 7316(a)(1) to provide a remedy under the FTCA for
intentional torts arising in the context of VA health care employees providing medical
care or treatment. See 38 U.S.C. § 7316(f). This provision was added to the VA
Immunity Statute in 1988.5 Pub. L. 100-322. Under § 7316(f), the exception to the
waiver of sovereign immunity for certain intentional torts that is contained in 28 U.S.C. §
2680(h) does not apply to “any claim arising out of a negligent or wrongful act or
omission of any . . . [health care employee of the VA] in furnishing medical care or
treatment . . . while in the exercise of such person’s duties in or for the Administration.”
38 U.S.C. § 7316(f). Thus, § 7316(f) allows the United States to be sued under the FTCA
for certain intentional torts committed by VA health care employees in the context of
providing medical care. See Franklin, 992 F.2d at 1502.
In Franklin, we previously considered the purpose and effect of subsection (f).
Specifically, we explained that, prior to the amendment of the VA Immunity Statute to
include subsection (f), “in circumstances where the government’s waiver of sovereign
immunity was excluded by § 2680(h) and, therefore, the injured party had no possible
5
At the time subsection (f) was added, the VA Immunity Statute was codified at 38
U.S.C. § 4116.
20
remedy under the FTCA, a cause of action against the responsible health worker could be
maintained.” Id. at 1500.
This had created a difficulty, because, depending on state law, malpractice actions
might be based on a theory of negligence or a theory of battery. See id. And unless a
statutory exception applies, a person cannot bring a claim for battery under the FTCA.
28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). Thus, under the FTCA generally, “[i]f the negligence theory [of
malpractice] applies, redress against the government under the FTCA is available, while
if the battery theory controls, the action is specifically excluded from the government’s
waiver of sovereign immunity under the FTCA.” Franklin, 992 F.2d at 1496 (citations
omitted). Before the enactment of § 7316(f), this was true under the VA Immunity
Statute. But “[e]ventually, Congress recognized this situation—and, specifically, the
example of medical battery—as a problem to be corrected.” Id. at 1500. To illustrate
this point, we quoted in Franklin the following legislative history for § 7316(f):
For many years, VA medical personnel have been protected from personal
liability in medical malpractice actions arising out of allegedly negligent
conduct in the furnishing of medical care or treatment to veterans.
However, the Government does not extend this immunity to actions arising
out of intentional conduct—so-called “intentional torts.” In some
instances, State law characterizes an act of medical malpractice as an
intentional tort, leaving VA medical personnel potentially liable for an
action for which the law intends the Government to assume liability. As an
example, if a patient consents to an operation on his left elbow, but the
physician mistakenly operates on the right elbow, responsibility for this
action would lie with the United States. However, if the suit was based on
21
a theory that a battery occurred, which is defined as any contact with a
person without that person’s consent, the Government is not allowed to
assume the employee’s liability. In essence, State law, which controls the
character of the action brought against VA medical personnel, could defeat
the intent of the Federal law to provide such employees with immunity.
Id. at 1500 (quoting H.R.Rep. No. 100–191, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 19 (1988), reprinted in
1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 432, 450).
Although Congress was specifically concerned with medical battery, the remedy
available under § 7316(f) is not limited to battery. Instead, by rendering 28 U.S.C. §
2680(h) inapplicable, § 7316(f) allows the United States to be sued for “assault, battery,
false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander,
misrepresentation, deceit, or interference with contract rights,” 28 U.S.C. 2680(h), when
such claims arise in the context of VA health care employees providing medical care or
treatment, 38 U.S.C. § 7316(f). As we noted in Franklin, Congress could have resolved
the problem in a variety of ways, and it need not have waived sovereign immunity for all
of the intentional torts listed in 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h), but “Congress chose . . . ‘to expand
the circumstances under which the Federal government accepts liability for the acts of its
employees acting within the scope of their employment so as to cover actions of VA
health-care employees that are characterized as intentional torts under the laws of various
states.’” Franklin, 992 F.2d at 1500 (emphasis in original) (quoting 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N.
at 502–03)). Thus, in the context of VA health care employees providing medical care or
22
treatment, § 7316(f) provides a remedy under the FTCA for claims of intentional torts,
including false arrest and false imprisonment.
In sum, § 7316(f) provides alternative, existing process for protecting the interests
implicated in this appeal, see Wilkie, 551 U.S. at 550, by expanding the scope of
§ 7316(a)(1) and providing a remedy under the FTCA for intentional torts arising in the
context of VA health care employees providing medical care or treatment. 38 U.S.C. §
7316(f). Section 7316(f) therefore “insulate[s] the individual government employee by
nullifying § 2680(h) and thereby expanding the injured party’s remedy against the
government under the FTCA.” Franklin, 992 F.2d at 1501.
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that there is an adequate alternative
remedy available under the VA Immunity Statute; indeed, the Statute provides an
exclusive remedy that precludes a cause of action under Bivens for claims that fall within
the scope of the Statute. Accordingly, we now consider whether Mr. Ingram’s claims fall
within the scope of the VA Immunity Statute.
II. Mr. Ingram’s Claims Fall Within the Scope of the VA Immunity Statute
Mr. Ingram argues that his claims do not fall within the scope of the VA Immunity
Statute for two reasons. First, he contends that the VA Immunity Statute is not
implicated, because his claims do not arise from malpractice or negligence. Specifically,
23
he “alleges that his confinement was not the result of medical evidence, evaluation or
opinion, but instead was a result of intentional acts of Defendants unrelated to any
medical opinion of physicians.” Aplt. Br. at 13. Second, he also argues that Defendants
are not qualified for immunity under the Statute because they do not fall within the
definition of “other supporting personnel.”
As background, Mr. Ingram alleges in his complaint that he was “wrongfully and
unlawfully detained and held in the psychiatric ward as a result of the actions of
Defendant Furuque [sic], Defendant Feng, . . . Defendant DeLise [sic], Defendant Inhofe,
Defendant Lt. Stevenson, and Defendant Captain Collins, who were acting within the
course and scope of their employment with [the VA].” Aplt. App. at 12. He goes on to
argue that: “Defendants conducted an objectively unreasonable and insufficient
investigation to determine whether there was a sufficient basis for holding Plaintiff
against his will in the psychiatric ward,” and that “[b]ased upon the actions, assertions,
and statements of Defendants, Plaintiff was coerced into signing the consent for
admission form against his will.” Id. He also contends that “[t]he conduct of Defendants
resulted in Plaintiff Delbert Ingram being falsely, maliciously, and unlawfully detained
and held in the psychiatric ward.” Id. And finally, he asserts that “Defendants Furuque
[sic], Feng, . . . DeLise [sic], Inhofe, Lt. Stevenson, and Captain Collins’ actions were
[done with] willful, wanton, intentional, and . . . reckless disregard.” Id. at 15.
24
As to Mr. Ingram’s first argument, it is plain that his claims fall within the scope
of the VA Immunity Statute. As discussed above, the VA Immunity Statute immunizes
VA health care employees for “damages . . . allegedly arising from malpractice or
negligence of a health care employee of the [VA],” 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(1), as well as
claims for “assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse
of process, libel, slander, misrepresentation, deceit, or interference with contract rights,”
28 U.S.C. § 2680(h), that “aris[e] out of a negligent or wrongful act or omission of
any . . . [health care employee] in furnishing medical care or treatment,” 38 U.S.C. at
§ 7316(f). Mr. Ingram’s claims arise from the medical care he received at the VAMC.
Specifically, his claims indicate either that Defendants’ actions were negligent and fell
below an objective standard of care, which would implicate a claim of malpractice, see
Id. § 7316(a)(1), or that they were wrongful acts or omissions that would implicate a
claim for an intentional tort, within the context of providing medical care or treatment,
see 38 U.S.C. §§ 2680(h) & 7316(f). And because he argues that he was unlawfully
detained and held as a result of Defendants’ “willful, wanton, intentional, and . . .
reckless disregard,” Aplt. App at 15, it is evident that he is arguing that Defendants
committed an intentional tort—specifically, false arrest or false imprisonment—for which
a remedy under the FTCA is provided by § 7316(f). Thus, his claims fall within the
scope of the VA Immunity Statute.
25
As to Mr. Ingram’s second argument, we conclude that the district court did not
err in determining that the Defendants were immune to suit as “health care employee[s]”
within the meaning of the VA Immunity Statute. Section 7316(a)(2) provides:
the term “health care employee of the Administration” means a physician,
dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, optometrist, nurse, physician assistant,
expanded-function dental auxiliary, pharmacist, or paramedical (such as
medical and dental technicians, nursing assistants, and therapists), or other
supporting personnel.
38 U.S.C. § 7316(a).
Mr. Ingram argues that Defendants are not “other supporting personnel,” but we
need not consider that argument as to Defendants Dr. Faruque and Dr. Feng, because
both doctors are “physicians”—specifically, VAMC staff psychiatrists. The district court
found that the actions of both Dr. Faruque and Dr. Feng
were actions relevant to the provision of medical care[,] . . . . that each
action was undertaken based on decisions and information pertinent to
Defendants as a result of their specialized education and training in the field
of medicine/psychology[,] . . . . [and] that their contact with Plaintiff arose
as a result of the need for an evaluation by a medical professional.
Aplt. App. at 167. We agree. Because both doctors are physicians and their interactions
with Mr. Ingram were in the scope of their duties and in the course of furnishing medical
care, see 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a), (f), they are entitled to immunity under the VA Immunity
Statute.
26
As to the other Defendants, the district court determined that they were acting as
supporting personnel to medical providers in their interactions with Mr. Ingram. Section
7316(a)(2) does not provide a definition for “other supporting personnel.” But the phrase
is not limited to “medical personnel”—in other words, it is not necessary under the
statute that “other supporting personnel” must themselves be qualified to practice
medicine or be regularly employed as medical personnel. See 38 U.S.C. § 7316(a)(2).
Instead, the statute defines “health care employee” as
physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, optometrist, nurse, physician
assistant, expanded-function dental auxiliary, pharmacist, or paramedical
(such as medical and dental technicians, nursing assistants, and therapists),
or other supporting personnel.
Id. (emphases added). Thus, employees of the VA may be “health care employee[s]”
under the statute if they are employed as one of the listed types of medical personnel, or
if they are providing support to such medical personnel. See id. And for other
supporting personnel to qualify for immunity under § 7316(a)(1) or § 7316(f), they must
provide support for medical personnel, id. § 7316(a)(2), “in furnishing medical care or
treatment . . . while in the exercise of [their] duties in or for the Administration,” id. §
7316(f); accord Id. § 7316(a)(1).
Here, the district court found that “[b]ut for the perceived need to provide medical
care to Plaintiff in the form of psychiatric care, neither Defendants Stevenson nor Collins
27
would have had any contact with Plaintiff.” Similarly, it found that “Defendants
DeLise’s [sic] and Inhofe’s interaction with Plaintiff arose solely at the behest of or in
support of the medical personnel who were evaluating Plaintiff’s condition.” Aplt. App.
at 170. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the district court’s ruling, the
court’s findings regarding the interactions between Mr. Ingram and Defendants Delise,
Inhofe, Stevenson, and Collins were not clearly erroneous. Rio Grande Silvery Minnow,
599 F.3d at 1175. Each of these Defendants testified that he or she was acting within the
scope of his or her duties and pursuant to instructions from medical personnel.
Accordingly, the record before the district court supports that these Defendants interacted
with Mr. Ingram only to provide support to medical personnel in furnishing medical care
to Mr. Ingram.
Mr. Ingram’s sole argument as to why Defendants could not have been other
“supporting personnel,” is that they were acting under the direction of Dr. Bukhari, and
Mr. Ingram contends that Dr. Bukhari did not “t[ake] any action that could give rise to a
malpractice claim.”6 Aplt. Br. at 16. Mr. Ingram misses the point. Dr. Bukhari is not a
6
Mr. Ingram does not make any other arguments as to why Defendants Inhofe, Delise,
Stevenson, and Collins are not “other supporting personnel” under the VA Immunity
Continued . . .
28
party to this action, and it is irrelevant whether Mr. Ingram’s allegations would give rise
to a cause of action against Dr. Bukhari under the VA Immunity Statute. The only
relevant question to consider in determining whether the four Defendants are other
“supporting personnel” is whether they were providing support to medical personnel in
furnishing health care or treatment. Id. Because their interactions with Mr. Ingram took
place solely in the context of providing support to medical personnel in furnishing
medical care to Mr. Ingram, we agree that they are “other supporting personal” under the
VA Immunity Statute.
In sum, Mr. Ingram’s claims fall within the scope of the VA Immunity Statute,
and the Defendants fall within the Statute’s definition of health care employees. And
because we hold that the FTCA provides an alternative, existing process for addressing
Mr. Ingram’s interests that is exclusive of any other cause of action arising from the same
subject matter, Mr. Ingram may not pursue a cause of action under Bivens. For that
______________________________________
Cont.
Statute, and “[t]his court . . . will not craft a party’s arguments for him,” Perry v.
Woodward, 199 F.3d 1126, 1141 n.13 (10th Cir. 1999).
29
reason, the district court did not err in concluding that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction
to consider Mr. Ingram’s claims.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Ingram has an alternative, existing process for protecting his interests
available through the VA Immunity Statute. And the language of the Statute provides for
an exclusive remedy that precludes Mr. Ingram from pursuing a cause of action under
Bivens. Because Mr. Ingram’s claims fall within the scope of the VA Immunity Statute,
we AFFIRM the district court’s decision concluding that it lacked subject matter
jurisdiction and dismissing Mr. Ingram’s claims without prejudice.
30