Ngono v. United States
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:19-cv-06854
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ngono v. United States, Judge Caproni partly granted the United States’ dismissal motion, dismissing some claims while allowing others to proceed.
Ngono Andre Marie’s Federal Tort Claims Act case was narrowed: several claims and forms of relief were dismissed with prejudice, while specified claims concerning August 18, 2016 remained available to proceed against the United States.
What happened
In Ngono v. United States, Ngono Andre Marie brought 25 claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. He alleged that federal employees abused him while he was detained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2016 and that other detainees assaulted him.
The United States asked the court to dismiss some claims because Ngono had not completed the required administrative process and because some requested relief was not available under the statute. The court dismissed several claims, or parts of claims, concerning events on dates other than August 18, 2016, and dismissed requests for declarations or court orders requiring action. Those dismissals were with prejudice.
Judge Valerie Caproni adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation and granted in part and denied in part the United States’ motion to dismiss. Ngono may proceed with Counts 1–6, 10–16, and 24, but only to the extent they concern events at the detention center on August 18, 2016.
The detailed version
- Ngono v. United States · No. 1:19-cv-06854
- Valerie Caproni
- Sept. 9, 2020
Background
Ngono Andre Marie asserted 25 claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a federal statute that allows certain claims for money damages based on the conduct of federal employees. He alleged that, while detained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2016, federal employees physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually abused him. He also alleged that other detainees physically assaulted him.
The United States moved to dismiss parts of the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), which permits dismissal when the court lacks authority to hear a claim. The United States argued that Ngono had not exhausted the administrative remedies required by the Federal Tort Claims Act for certain claims. It also argued that many other claims fell within categories for which the United States had not waived its protection from suit.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Freeman recommended that the motion be granted in part and denied in part. Neither party filed timely objections. Judge Caproni therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake on the record.
Court’s Analysis and Ruling
The court found no clear error and adopted the recommendation in its entirety. It concluded that the only claims Ngono had administratively exhausted were a subset of claims concerning his treatment at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 18, 2016. Claims concerning events on other dates had not been exhausted. The court stated that the two-year deadline for filing a new administrative claim had expired, so further exhaustion would be futile.
The court dismissed Counts 7–9, 17–23, and 25 in their entirety with prejudice. It dismissed Counts 1–3, 10–11, and 15–16 with prejudice to the extent they were based on events occurring on dates other than August 18, 2016.
The court also dismissed with prejudice Ngono’s requests for declaratory and injunctive relief because the Federal Tort Claims Act’s waiver of the United States’ protection from suit extends only to monetary relief.
The court denied the remaining portion of the motion. Ngono may proceed with Counts 1–6, 10–16, and 24, but only to the extent those counts arise from events alleged to have occurred at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 18, 2016. The case remained referred to Magistrate Judge Freeman for general pretrial matters. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 15.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.