Joshua Rich v. US

Filing

PUBLISHED AUTHORED OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:13-cv-00137-GMG-RWT. [999726132]. [14-7204]

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PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-7204

JOSHUA RICH,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg.
Gina M. Groh,
District Judge. (3:13-cv-00137-GMG-RWT)

Argued:

October 27, 2015

Decided:

December 29, 2015

Before KEENAN, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by published
opinion.
Judge Keenan wrote the opinion, in which Judge Wynn
and Judge Diaz joined.

ARGUED: Jay Thornton McCamic, MCCAMIC, SACCO & MCCOID, PLLC,
Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellant.
Alan McGonigal, OFFICE
OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia, for
Appellee. ON BRIEF: William J. Ihlenfeld, II, Assistant United
States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling,
West Virginia, for Appellee.

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BARBARA MILANO KEENAN, Circuit Judge:
While serving a fifty-seven year sentence at the United
States

Penitentiary

in

Bruceton

Mills,

West

Virginia

(USP

Hazelton), Joshua Rich was attacked in a recreation area, or
“cage,” by several other inmates.
stabbed

several

recovered

at

including

times.

the

liver

A

He was severely beaten and

nine-inch-long

scene.

Rich

laceration,

which

homemade

suffered
required

knife

serious
numerous

was

injuries,
invasive

surgeries.
Rich sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims
Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), alleging that prison officials
had been negligent in failing to protect him from the attack.
The district court granted the government’s motion to dismiss
for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, concluding that the
discretionary function exception to the FTCA applied both to the
prison

officials’

attackers,

as

well

decision
as

to

not
the

to

manner

separate
in

which

Rich
the

from

his

officials

searched other inmates prior to placing them with Rich in the
recreation cage.
Upon our review, we affirm the district court’s holding
that

the

prison

officials’

discretionary

decision

not

to

separate Rich from his attackers is subject to the discretionary
function exception of the FTCA, depriving us of jurisdiction
over that claim.

However, with regard to Rich’s claim that
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prison

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officials

did

not

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perform

the

searches

properly,

we

remand for additional discovery because jurisdictional facts are
intertwined with the merits of that claim.

I.
In 2008, the United States District Court for the District
of Utah sentenced Rich to fifty-seven years’ imprisonment for
armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d),
and for using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of
violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

Rich entered the

custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in September 2008. 1
According to Rich, he immediately was targeted in prison by
a

white

supremacist

group,

the

“Aryan

Brotherhood,”

for

his

refusal to follow that group’s rules and to participate in the
group’s criminal schemes.
different

penitentiaries,

continually

by

the

Aryan

Although transferred frequently to
Rich

contends

Brotherhood

that

and

he

was

required

targeted

separation

from the group. 2

1

Unless otherwise indicated, the facts in Section I are
undisputed.
2

The government disputes Rich’s account of his time at the
various penitentiaries and the reasons for his separation from
other inmates, arguing that Rich’s prior Special Housing Unit
placements were unrelated to the Aryan Brotherhood.
As we
explain in Section II.B., this dispute of fact is immaterial to
our conclusions.
3

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In February 2011, Rich was transferred to USP Hazelton and,
on August 5, 2011, five inmates attacked him in a recreation
cage within the Special Housing Unit (SHU).
Rich and stabbed him repeatedly.

The attackers beat

A knife measuring about nine

inches in length was recovered from the scene. 3

Rich suffered

serious injuries and underwent numerous surgeries, including a
bronchoscopy for respiratory failure, a laparotomy to repair a
laceration to his liver, and open-heart surgery to repair the
right atrium of his heart.
Rich sued the United States under the FTCA, alleging one
count

of

failed

negligence

to

protect

asserting
him

from

that

the

harm.

prison

Rich

officials

alleged

that

had
the

officials should have kept him separated from his attackers, and
that

the

officials

failed

to

screen,

“wand,”

or

search

the

inmates properly prior to placing them in the recreation cage.
The government moved to dismiss Rich’s complaint on the
basis that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA,
which limits the government’s waiver of sovereign immunity for
certain

kinds

of

discretionary

3

conduct,

applied

both

to

the

The government does not dispute the size of the knife
recovered from the scene of the attack, though its exact size is
nowhere in the record.
Although the government refers to the
investigative report for Rich’s attack as in the record on page
169 of the joint appendix, we are unable to locate page 169.
Nor is the investigative report included in any other part of
the record.
4

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prison officials’ decision whether to separate Rich from his
attackers

and

to

the

manner

in

searched the attacking inmates.

which

the

prison

officials

To support its position, the

government included several exhibits with its motion to dismiss.
These attachments included portions of Rich’s prison file and
declarations from the prison officials, who stated that they
performed patdowns and searches properly on all inmates before
the attack.

The attachments also included various “Post Orders”

in effect at USP Hazelton on August 5, 2011. 4
The

Post

Orders

relating

to

the

SHU

require

that

an

inmate’s hands be restrained behind his body whenever leaving
his cell for recreation.

Additionally, the Post Orders state

that “inmates will be pat searched and screened with the handheld

metal

detector

recreation cages.”

before

entering

and

upon

exiting

the

The Post Orders do not otherwise describe

how a patdown should be performed.

However, the BOP “Program

Statement” applicable to all prisons, including USP Hazelton,
provides that “[a]ny pat search shall be conducted as outlined

4

“Post Orders” are specific to each institution, based on
BOP policy, and state each post’s duty hours as well as any
special instructions unique to that post. See U.S. Dep’t of
Justice Program Statement No. 5500.14, section 103 (2012),
http://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5500_014.pdf (describing post
orders).
5

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in the Correctional Services Manual.” 5

Moreover, according to

the Post Orders, when an inmate has a prior history of weapons
possession, prison officials must perform a “visual search” of
the inmate, including a search of the inmate’s body cavities,
prior to his entry into a recreation cage.
After
agreed

reviewing

with

the

these

attachments,

government

that

the

the

district

discretionary

court

function

exception applied to the prison officials’ decisions regarding
inmate separation and the manner in which the prison officials
performed the patdowns and searches. 6

The court found that the

Post Orders “do not mandate a specific course of conduct” for
the officers to follow in performing the required searches.
court

also

officials

is

concluded
consistent

that
with

the

discretion

the

public

afforded

policy

of

The

prison
granting

prison officials deference in implementing and executing their
security measures.
The
entitled

district
to

any

court

further

discovery

concluded
regarding

that

Rich

whether

was

not

additional

directives mandated a particular method for performing patdowns
5

The Correctional Services Manual is not a part of the
record before this Court.
6

The district court noted that Rich only objected to the
report and recommendation of the magistrate judge with respect
to whether the prison officials performed their searches
properly.
Accordingly, the court simply adopted the magistrate
judge’s conclusion regarding separation.
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searches.

government’s
jurisdiction.

Accordingly,
motion

to

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the

dismiss

district
for

lack

court
of

granted

subject

the

matter

This appeal followed.

II.
On appeal, Rich challenges the district court’s conclusion
that the discretionary function exception applies to the prison
officials’ conduct.

He argues that the officials had a non-

discretionary duty to maintain and monitor both his prison files
and the files of other inmates.

Rich contends that if the

officials had taken these security measures, they would have
known about Rich’s history with the Aryan Brotherhood and the
need to keep him separated from the group’s members.

Rich also

argues that the Post Orders and other policies imposed mandatory
directives that the prison officials search and patdown inmates
prior to placing them in the recreation cage, thereby precluding
application

of

the

discretionary

function

exception.

Rich

contends that, at a minimum, he should have been allowed the
opportunity for discovery before the district court determined
that the discretionary function exception applied.
In response, the government contends that the officials’
decision not to separate Rich from his attackers, as well as the
manner in which the searches were performed, are matters within
the discretionary function exception.
7

The government asserts

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are

no

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directives

governing

the

separation

of

prisoners or the proper procedure for performing patdowns and
searches.

The government argues that, therefore, the prison

officials’ discretion in these areas implicates public policy
considerations

that

function exception.

justify

application

of

the

discretionary

The government further asserts that the

district court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to
grant Rich discovery, because no additional information could be
uncovered

that

would

establish

the

district

court’s

jurisdiction.
A.
We review a district court’s decision dismissing a case for
lack of subject matter jurisdiction de novo.

Taylor v. Kellogg

Brown & Root Servs., Inc., 658 F.3d 402, 408 (4th Cir. 2011).
We

review

discretion.

a

denial

of

jurisdictional

discovery

for

abuse

of

Durden v. United States, 736 F.3d 296, 307 (4th

Cir. 2013).
Although the United States typically is immune from suit,
the FTCA provides a waiver of this sovereign immunity when the
federal

government

“would

be

liable

to

the

claimant

in

accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission
occurred” for certain torts, such as negligence, committed by
federal employees acting within the scope of their employment.
28

U.S.C.

§ 1346(b)(1).

However,
8

under

the

FTCA,

the

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discretionary function exception limits that waiver of immunity
in

situations

involving

“the

exercise

or

performance

or

the

failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty
. . . whether or not the discretion involved be abused.”

28

U.S.C. § 2680(a).
To

determine

discretionary
test.

whether

function

First,

a

conduct

exception,

court

qualifies

courts

considers

apply

whether

for

the

a

two-pronged

the

challenged

governmental conduct involves an element of judgment or choice.
United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 322 (1991).

When a

statute, regulation, or policy prescribes a specific course of
action, there is no discretion and the exception does not apply.
Id.

Second, if the challenged conduct does involve an element

of judgment, the court must then determine whether the judgment
was one that the exception was designed to protect, namely, a
judgment based on considerations of public policy.

Id. at 322-

23.
A

defendant’s

assertion

that

the

discretionary

function

exception applies is an assertion that the court lacks subject
matter jurisdiction.
States,

569

F.3d

subject

matter

See Indem. Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. United

175,

180

jurisdiction,

(4th
a

Cir.

2009).

defendant

may

In

challenging

raise

a

facial

challenge that, even if all the alleged facts are true, the

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complaint

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nonetheless

fails

to

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establish

jurisdiction.

See

Durden, 736 F.3d at 300.
Alternatively, a defendant may dispute the allegations in a
complaint

that

could

establish

subject

matter

jurisdiction.

Kerns v. United States, 585 F.3d 187, 192 (4th Cir. 2009).

In

that situation, the court may go beyond the allegations in the
complaint and “in an evidentiary hearing determine if there are
facts to support the jurisdictional allegations.”

Id.

Under

such circumstances, the complaint’s allegations ordinarily are
not afforded a presumption of truthfulness.

Id.

If, however,

the jurisdictional facts are intertwined with the facts central
to the merits of the complaint, “a presumption of truthfulness
should

attach

to

the

plaintiff’s

allegations.”

Id.

at

193.

And, most relevant here, the court “should resolve the relevant
factual disputes only after appropriate discovery.”

In re KBR,

Inc.,

Cir.

Burn

Pit

Litig.,

744

F.3d

326,

334

(4th

2014)

(citation omitted).
B.
We

first

address

whether

the

discretionary

function

exception applies to the prison officials’ placement of Rich in
the recreation cage with his attackers, and whether Rich was
entitled to discovery on this claim.

To do so, we consider

whether the challenged governmental conduct involves an element
of judgment or choice and, if so, whether that judgment was
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based on considerations of public policy.

Gaubert, 499 U.S. at

322–23.
The

BOP

is

“safekeeping,”

required

to

provide

“care”

of

“all

and

for

the

persons

“protection,”

charged

convicted of offenses against the United States.”
4042(a)(2), (3).
retains

Cir.

or

18 U.S.C. §

Under the statute’s broad directives, the BOP

discretion

mandates.

with

regarding

the

implementation

of

those

Cohen v. United States, 151 F.3d 1338, 1342 (11th

1998).

This

discretion

is

evident

in

the

regulations

regarding the proper handling and review of the Central Inmate
Monitoring (CIM) files.
The CIM system is the mechanism by which the Bureau of
Prisons monitors and controls the transfer, temporary release,
and community activities of certain inmates who present special
needs for management, including the need to separate certain
inmates from others based on their past behavior.
§

524.70–76.

Although

28

C.F.R.

§ 524.72(d)

See 28 C.F.R.
provides

that

inmates “may require separation from a specific disruptive group
[such

as

a

prison

gang]”

(emphasis

added),

nothing

in

this

regulation requires that any specific action be taken by the
various

prison

officials.

Instead,

prison

officials

must

consider several factors and exercise independent judgment in
determining
C.F.R.

§

whether
524.72(f).

inmates

may

Given

require

this
11

separation.

general

language

See
in

28
the

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regulations, we conclude that prison officials exercise broad
discretion in this regard and, thus, that the first prong of the
discretionary function exception is satisfied.
We turn to consider the second element of the discretionary
function
policy

exception,
are

namely,

implicated

in

whether
the

considerations

discretion

given

of

public

to

prison

officials in their decisions about the separation of prisoners.
See Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 322–23.

Although this is an issue of

first impression in this Court, other federal appellate courts
have held that prisoner placement and the handling of threats
posed by inmates against one another are “part and parcel of the
inherently

policy-laden

endeavor

of

maintaining

preserving security within our nation’s prisons.”

order

and

Cohen, 151

F.3d at 1344; see also Alfrey v. United States, 276 F.3d 557,
563-65 (9th Cir. 2002); Calderon v. United States, 123 F.3d 947,
951

(7th

Cir.

1997).

proper

classification

levels

are

“inherently

economic policy.”

Factors
of

such

inmates,
grounded

as
and

in

available

resources,

appropriate

social,

security

political,

and

Dykstra v. U.S. Bureau of Prisons, 140 F.3d

791, 796 (8th Cir. 1998); cf. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520,
547-48 (1979) (“Prison administrators . . . should be accorded
wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies
and

practices

that

in

their

judgment

12

are

needed

to

preserve

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internal

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order

and

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discipline

and

to

maintain

institutional

security.”).
We agree with the reasoning of our sister circuits.

Prison

officials are afforded discretion in determining where to place
inmates

and

separated
several

whether

from

policy

one

to

keep

another.

considerations

certain
Because
for

individuals
these

prison

or

decisions

gangs
invoke

administrators,

they

are precisely the kind of determinations that the discretionary
function exception is intended to protect.
that

the

discretionary

function

We therefore hold

exception

shields

the

prison

officials from liability with respect to whether they should
have separated Rich from his attackers.
We also conclude that Rich is not entitled to discovery on
this issue.
his

Even accepting all of Rich’s allegations regarding

history

discretionary
decisions

of

with

the

function
the

Aryan

Brotherhood

exception

officials

still

regarding

ultimately depriving us of jurisdiction.
that

Rich

could

uncover

in

as

would

true,

apply

prisoner

to

the
the

placement,

And because no facts

discovery

would

establish

jurisdiction, we hold that the district court did not abuse its
discretion in refusing Rich discovery regarding the officials’
decision to not separate Rich from his attackers.
736 F.3d at 307-08.

13

See Durden,

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C.
We reach a different conclusion regarding the availability
of discovery with respect to Rich’s allegations that the prison
officials did not search his attackers properly before placing
them in the recreation cage.

Unlike the allegations underlying

Rich’s claim regarding the prison officials’ duty to separate
Rich from his attackers, which failed on their face to establish
subject matter jurisdiction, disputed jurisdictional facts are
intertwined

with

the

merits

execution of the patdowns.
For

example,

in

of

Rich’s

claim

regarding

the

See Kerns, 585 F.3d at 193.

support

of

the

government’s

motion

to

dismiss, the prison officials provided declarations that they
did in fact perform patdowns of the inmates involved on the date
of the incident.

Those declarations stand in direct contrast to

Rich’s allegation that the officials “failed to properly screen,
‘wand,’ or search inmates entering the SHU and/or SHU recreation
cages.”

That allegation is relevant not only to whether the

discretionary function exception applies and, thus, whether we
have subject matter jurisdiction over this claim, but also to
the merits of Rich’s negligence allegation.
We find no merit in the government’s argument that Rich did
not

allege

that

the

prison

officials

completely

failed

to

patdown or “wand” his attackers, but alleged only that these
searches were not done properly.
14

Rich’s complaint can be read

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fairly to allege both that the officials did not perform the
searches properly, and that the officials failed to perform the
searches

in

any

manner.

throughout the litigation.

Rich

maintained

this

position

A period of discovery would afford

Rich the opportunity to challenge these officials’ assertions
concerning their performance of the searches.
Even

if

we

accept

the

prison

officials’

uncontested

declarations, the fact that they performed patdowns does not
resolve

the

question

whether

the

officials

performed

those

patdowns properly.

The BOP’s Program Statement provides that

“[a]ny

shall

pat

search

be

conducted

as

outlined

in

the

Correctional Services Manual,” suggesting the existence of more
specific directives.

Rich should be permitted the opportunity

for discovery of that Correctional Services Manual to determine
whether

more

specific

directives

exist

concerning

the

performance of patdowns. 7

7

We do not decide whether, even in the absence of more
specific mandates, the manner in which a patdown is performed
qualifies for the discretionary function exception.
We note,
however, that the government offers no limiting principle to its
rationale as to when the exception should apply.
There is
always some level of discretion regarding the performance of
even the most specific of mandates, which under the government’s
argument would mean that the discretionary function exception
would always apply. Moreover, the government could only suggest
reasons of “security” generally as the policy consideration
involved in the manner of performing patdowns.
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Additionally, when inmates have a prior history of weapons
possession, the Post Orders require a “visual search” of those
inmates, involving a search of the body cavity, prior to their
entry into a recreation cage.

Discovery could uncover whether

any of Rich’s attackers had a history of weapons possession that
would have triggered this visual search requirement.

Such an

additional mandate would affect any analysis concerning whether
the prison officials properly performed searches as required. 8
Finally,
jurisdiction

we

observe

even

if,

that

Rich

under

may

be

typical

able

to

establish

circumstances,

the

discretionary function exception applies to the manner in which
prison

officials

perform

patdowns.

The

Second

Circuit

has

acknowledged that discretionary conduct cannot be grounded in a
policy

decision

when

that

conduct

is

marked

by

individual

carelessness or laziness.

See Coulthurst v. United States, 214

F.3d

2000)

(concluding

would

not

106

function

(2d

Cir.

exception

apply

that
to

a

the

discretionary

prison

official’s

inspection of faulty weight equipment that caused plaintiff’s
injuries

if

that

inspection

was

8

performed

in

a

“carelessly

At oral argument, the government contended that providing
certain types of information to inmates, such as camera
placements and security methods employed by prison officials,
would present serious safety risks by allowing inmates to
uncover any potential holes in prison safety procedures. We are
confident that the district court can implement appropriate
measures during the course of discovery to prevent any
unnecessary disclosure of critical security information.
16

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inattentive” manner).

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The fact that a nine-inch-long knife was

recovered at the scene of Rich’s attack, in spite of the prison
officials’ averments that each performed the required searches
properly,

at

least

inattention.
shielded

by

suggests

the

possibility

of

careless

In that case, the prison officials would not be
the

discretionary

function

exception

because

no

when

a

consideration

of

policy considerations would be implicated.
Discovery
jurisdictional
merits-based

provides
inquiry

evidence.

a

procedural

would

require

See

Kerns,

585

safeguard
the

F.3d

at

193.

This

safeguard does not disappear simply because the plaintiff is a
prisoner.

Of course, courts frequently apply the discretionary

function exception to prison officials’ efforts to ensure the
safety of prisoners under difficult circumstances, e.g., Cohen,
151 F.3d at 1344; Alfrey, 276 F.3d at 564-67; Calderon, 123 F.3d
at 949-51, and that may be the ultimate outcome here as well.
Nevertheless, we conclude that Rich is entitled to the safeguard
of discovery before his complaint is dismissed.
Because the jurisdictional facts regarding the propriety of
the prison officials’ patdowns are intertwined with the merits
of Rich’s allegations, the district court “should resolve the
relevant factual disputes only after appropriate discovery.”
re KBR, Inc., 744 F.3d at 334 (citation omitted).

In

Accordingly,

we vacate in part, and remand, to allow Rich to proceed to
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discovery

on

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the

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issue

and

whether

how

the

prison

officials

performed the patdowns and searches, and whether more specific
directives

existed

regarding

the

manner

of

performing

the

patdowns and searches.

III.
For these reasons, we affirm the district court’s decision
that the discretionary function exception applies to the prison
officials’ decision not to separate Rich from his attackers.
However, we vacate the district court’s judgment with respect to
the issue of the prison officials’ performance of the patdowns
and searches, and remand for additional proceedings consistent
with this opinion.
AFFIRMED IN PART,
VACATED IN PART,
AND REMANDED

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