Alnese Frazier v. The United States of America

Filing

Opinion issued by court as to Appellant Alnese Frazier. Decision: Affirmed. Opinion type: Non-Published. Opinion method: Per Curiam. The opinion is also available through the Court's Opinions page at this link http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions.

Case: 16-15154

Date Filed: 04/12/2017

Page: 1 of 3

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 16-15154
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D.C. Docket No. 1:15-cv-01174-TWT

ALNESE FRAZIER, As parent, natural guardian and next friend of LF and BF,
minor children of Melvin Vernell, III, deceased; As next friend of KW, a minor
child of Melvin Vernell, III, deceased,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
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(April 12, 2017)

Case: 16-15154

Date Filed: 04/12/2017

Page: 2 of 3

Before WILSON and BLACK, Circuit Judges, and RESTANI, * Judge.
PER CURIAM:
After careful review of the briefs and the record, and having the benefit of
oral argument, we find no reversible error.
Frazier argues that her complaint set forth a plausible claim for negligence,
wrongful death, deliberate indifference, and negligent supervision; and the district
court erred by granting the United States’ motion to dismiss for failure to allege a
legal duty. According to Frazier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) owed a
legal duty to her fiancé, Melvin Vernell, III (Vernell), because a “special
relationship” existed between the FBI and its confidential informant, Mani
Chulpayev (Chulpayev). Frazier asserts that the FBI, through Special Agent
Jackson, had a professional relationship with Chulpayev for several years prior to
the murder of Vernell.
After reviewing the district court’s grant of the motion to dismiss de novo,
we conclude that Frazier’s allegations are insufficient to support a finding that the
FBI had the requisite degree of control over Chulpayev to be held liable under
Georgia law. Moreover, Frazier has not identified, nor have we found, a liabilityinducing cause of action for deliberate indifference under Georgia law in this
context. The decision of the district court is
*

Honorable Jane A. Restani, Judge for the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by
designation.
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Case: 16-15154

Date Filed: 04/12/2017

AFFIRMED.

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