Juanita SÁNCHEZ, on behalf of minor child D.R.-S.; 7,124 Additional Plaintiffs Found in Attachment A, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant, Appellee.
No. 10-1648.
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.
Heard June 9, 2011. Decided Feb. 14, 2012.
670 F.3d 86
Thus, even if the district court erred by omitting the statute of limitations instruction, that error was not prejudicial, and reversal is not warranted. Sony BMG Music Entm‘t, 660 F.3d at 503.6
III. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm and award costs to Diaz.
Eric W. Bloom and Winston & Strawn LLP on brief for Municipality of Vieques, amicus curiae.
Adam Bain, Senior Trial Counsel, Torts Branch, Environmental Torts, with whom Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, J. Patrick Glynn, Director, Torts Branch, Environmental Torts, David S. Fishback, Assistant Director, Torts Branch, Environmental Torts, Jane Mahoney, Senior Trial Counsel, Torts Branch, Environmental Torts, Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney, and Nelson Jose Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief, for appellee.
Before LYNCH, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.
LYNCH, Chief Judge.
Juanita Sánchez and 7,124 additional named plaintiffs appeal from a
Residents of Vieques brought a similar FTCA suit in Abreu for damages against the United States alleging that noise and air pollution from the Navy‘s exercises on Vieques caused them tort injuries. Abreu, 468 F.3d at 23-24. This court affirmed a
The plaintiffs in this suit argue that neither Abreu nor the discretionary function exception to the waiver of sovereign immunity precludes their FTCA claim here. They have four theories, some of which require dismissal under Abreu and some under the discretionary function bar on jurisdiction. They assert that the Navy is susceptible to suit and acted beyond its discretion because it allegedly (1) violated mandatory directives concerning water pollution issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA),
The district court rejected these arguments as well as several others not raised on appeal. Sanchez v. United States, 707 F.Supp.2d 216 (D.P.R.2010). We affirm the dismissal with prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
I.
This court‘s decisions in Abreu and Romero-Barcelo v. Brown, 643 F.2d 835 (1st Cir.1981), rev‘d sub nom. Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305, 102 S.Ct. 1798, 72 L.Ed.2d 91 (1982), describe in detail the history of the Navy‘s activities on Vieques. See Abreu, 468 F.3d at 23-24; Romero-Barcelo, 643 F.2d at 838-40. In brief, the Navy used 22,000 of the island‘s 33,000 acres as a training ground and live ordnance range at various points between 1941 and 2003. It established an ammunition facility on the western end of the island and used the eastern half of the island as a training range, which included a “live impact area” and an adjacent “maneuver area.” Training exercises incorporated live munitions to simulate combat conditions, including artillery, mortar, small arms fire, naval surface fire, and aircraft strikes. The Navy also operated an open burning/open detonation facility on the island, where it incinerated and detonated unused ordnance. In May 2000, the Navy discontinued all live fire training exercises; all military exercises in Vieques were terminated as of April 30, 2003.
The 7,125 named plaintiffs filed this suit in September 2007, four years after the cessation of military operations on Vieques.2 They allege that the Navy‘s operations on Vieques produced hazardous and toxic waste and that the Navy acted negligently in storing and disposing of this
In their complaint, the plaintiffs also asserted that the Navy actions allegedly giving rise to their state-law claims for alleged injury4 violated requirements outlined in various federal statutes, regulations, and policies, and thus were not within the Navy‘s discretion. Only three of these purported requirements are relevant on appeal: (1) a permit issued under the CWA concerning water-based pollutants, (2) a pair of permits not in evidence concerning the discharge of depleted uranium bullets, and (3) unnamed internal regulations, policies, directives, and orders. The complaint also included the assertion, reasserted on appeal, that the Navy negligently failed to warn the plaintiffs about the pollution.
As to the first theory and the permit under the CWA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. PRG990001 to the Navy‘s AFWTF in 1984. The Navy had been ordered to apply for the permit by a federal district court. See Weinberger, 456 U.S. at 315. In Romero-Barcelo, the federal courts found that “the discharge of ordnance had not polluted the waters” of Vieques, see Weinberger, 456 U.S. at 315, and what the Navy had failed to do was to apply for an NPDES permit. Indeed, the Supreme Court reversed this court and held that the issuance of an injunction against the Navy was not required. Id. at 311-19. The Navy did apply for a permit in 1979, and it contested Puerto Rico‘s contention that it was not complying with CWA water quality standards. Id. at 315 n. 9.
The NPDES permit, incorporating certain requirements set by the Environmental Quality Board of Puerto Rico, regulated the Navy‘s discharge of ordnance within a specified geographic area of ocean around Vieques. In relevant part, the permit required that the Navy maintain water concentrations of certain compounds below the higher of (1) specific numerical requirements and (2) natural background concentration levels. The permit stated that “at no time shall the maximum values contained in the effluent exceed the water quality standards after mixing with the receiving water.”
The plaintiffs allege that the Navy violated the terms of this permit more than a decade ago. They rely in large part on an
As to the second theory and the alleged permits concerning depleted uranium, the plaintiffs rely on an April 1, 1999, letter to the Navy from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and an accompanying report. The letter describes a particular event on February 19, 1999, in which two aircraft fired at least 263 depleted uranium 25 mm rounds on Vieques. It states, “The firing of [depleted uranium] ammunition on Navy or Marine Corps firing ranges is a violation of the Navy‘s Master Material License No. 45-23645-01NA, and specifically, the Naval Radioactive Material Permit No. 13-00164-L1NP pertaining to depleted uranium.” The letter did not, however, include the text of these permits, nor have the plaintiffs otherwise done so. The report accompanying the letter explained only that this type of ammunition is to be used strictly during combat, and that the pilots of the two aircraft did not follow required Navy procedures that they check a manual that classifies types of ammunition.
According to the report, “[v]isual searches and radiological surveys indicated that only a limited area of the North Convoy site was actually affected.” The report stated that fifty-seven of the rounds had been recovered, “most of them completely intact,” and that “[o]nly a few holes exhibited residual contamination after the [depleted uranium] penetrator was removed.” It also stated that contaminated soil had been collected and packaged for disposal.
The plaintiffs allege that as of 2001 only 116 of the 263 rounds had been found and removed. They also cite an issue of the Vieques Issue Brief, a non-profit publication published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, which refers to an unnamed study “conducted in the impact area” that found “significantly higher than background radiation levels about a mile from where the [depleted uranium] was reportedly fired.” The plaintiffs allege that this suggests depleted uranium has been used “on several other occasions on Vieques.”
As to the third theory and the unnamed internal regulations, policies, directives, and orders, little further explanation is needed. The plaintiffs do not make any specific claims as to the content of these purported internal requirements. They argue only that the AFWTF range manual requires documentation of both compliance with and violations of the range‘s environmental procedures, and assert that this is evidence of the existence of mandatory internal requirements. The range manual contains general rules concerning permissible conduct on the island, and includes prohibitions on both intentionally discharging live ordnance into the water and discarding refuse or bilge from naval vessels. The plaintiffs argue, vaguely, that discovery of the internal reporting concerning these requirements would demonstrate vi-
As to the fourth theory, the plaintiffs argue that the Navy undertook a duty to warn residents of Vieques about heightened concentrations of heavy metals on the island when it allegedly allowed fishermen and cattle herders into contaminated areas. The plaintiffs argue that the Navy‘s failure to comply with this alleged duty was not susceptible to policy-related judgments and thus is a basis for FTCA liability. In support of this theory, the plaintiffs rely on (1) a provision in an AFWTF range manual stating that a training range would be closed on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7 A.M. to 9 A.M. “to permit local fishermen to retrieve fishing traps from adjacent waters,” and (2) an academic article that asserts, without citation, that “the U.S. Navy allowed local farmers to graze cows in the eastern part of Vieques including at the AFWTF,” A. Massol-Deyá, et al., Trace Elements Analysis in Forage Samples from a U.S. Navy Bombing Range (Vieques, Puerto Rico), 2 Int‘l J. Envtl. Res. & Pub. Health 263, 264 (2005). The plaintiffs assert that the Navy‘s alleged failure to issue a warning caused them to ingest contaminated food and travel in contaminated areas.
The district court rejected the arguments the plaintiffs present on appeal. It held that the plaintiffs (1) cannot rely on the Navy‘s NPDES permit under the reasoning of Abreu because Congress clearly intended to preclude compensatory damages under the CWA, Sanchez, 707 F.Supp.2d at 232-33; (2) failed to specify how the alleged directives concerning depleted uranium bullets were mandatory, id. at 223; (3) failed to adequately plead their assertions concerning the unnamed internal requirements under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), Sanchez, 707 F.Supp.2d at 233; and (4) failed to show that the Navy‘s purported failure to warn was not discretionary and not susceptible to policy-related judgments and therefore was excluded from FTCA liability, id. at 230.
II.
The district court‘s ultimate rulings were ones of law, which we review de novo. Sony BMG Music Entm‘t v. Tenenbaum, 660 F.3d 487, 496 (1st Cir.2011).
On this
The FTCA‘s waiver of sovereign immunity from suit is a “limited waiver.” Molzof v. United States, 502 U.S. 301, 305, 112 S.Ct. 711, 116 L.Ed.2d 731 (1992); Abreu, 468 F.3d at 23. One exception to that waiver of immunity bars lawsuits “based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.”
Under United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 111 S.Ct. 1267, 113 L.Ed.2d 335 (1991), the discretionary function exception applies if the conduct underlying an FTCA claim both (1) “involves an element of judgment or choice,” Limone v. United States, 579 F.3d 79, 101 (1st Cir. 2009) (quoting Berkovitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531, 536, 108 S.Ct. 1954, 100 L.Ed.2d 531 (1988)) (internal quotation marks omitted), and (2) “was susceptible to policy-related analysis,” id. Conduct does not involve an element of judgment or choice if a “federal statute, regulation, or policy specifically prescribes a course of action for an employee to follow,” because “the employee has no rightful option but to adhere to the directive.” Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 322 (quoting Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 536). Conduct is susceptible to policy analysis if “some plausible policy justification could have undergirded the challenged conduct;” it is not relevant whether the conduct was “the end product of a policy-driven analysis.” Shansky v. United States, 164 F.3d 688, 692 (1st Cir.1999). This discretionary function bar to suit applies to activities by both civilian and military agencies covered by the FTCA.
As the Supreme Court has held, the discretionary function exception “marks the boundary between Congress’ willingness to impose tort liability upon the United States and its desire to protect certain governmental activities from exposure to suit by private individuals.” United States v. S.A. Empresa de Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense (Varig Airlines), 467 U.S. 797, 808, 104 S.Ct. 2755, 81 L.Ed.2d 660 (1984) (quoted in Abreu, 468 F.3d at 25). Through this exception to the FTCA‘s waiver of immunity, Congress sought to “prevent judicial ‘second-guessing’ of legislative and administrative decisions grounded in social, economic, and political policy through the medium of an action in tort.” Id. at 814 (quoted in Abreu, 468 F.3d at 25). Accordingly, a complaint cannot survive a motion to dismiss unless it alleges facts “which would support a finding that the challenged actions are not the kind of conduct that can be said to be grounded in the policy of the regulatory regime.” Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 324-25.
The Supreme Court has held that the discretionary function exception does not bar suit when an employee violates a mandatory regulation. See id. at 324. The Court has applied this rule in private party suits against defendant federal regulators, but not in suits against defendant federal regulated parties, Abreu, 468 F.3d at 27, and it has not made a distinction based on whether the regulated party is civilian or military. The Navy here fits into the defendant federal regulated party category. The Navy does not purport to exercise discretion under the regulatory regimes plaintiffs invoke in this litigation; rather, its discretion “comes from an entirely different source, namely, its authority to conduct military operations.” Id. In light of this, in Abreu we concluded that “the rule in Gaubert may well be inapplicable to mandatory directives aimed at a regulated party, where the regulated party is not exercising discretion under the mandatory statute or regulation.” Id. We also concluded there is a “particularly strong argument for limiting the rule of Gaubert where the exercise of military authority is involved, in view of the numerous cases cautioning the courts to avoid interfering with the exercise of discretionary military authority.” Id. at 27-28 (citing United States v. Shearer, 473 U.S. 52, 57, 105 S.Ct. 3039, 87 L.Ed.2d 38 (1985)).
A. The Claim Based on the CWA and the NPDES Permit
When evaluating “contentions that the violation of mandatory requirements implies a waiver of sovereign immunity under the FTCA, we must refrain from imposing liability on the government when doing so would subvert a congressional decision to preclude regulated entity liability in the statute creating the mandatory directive.” Id. at 30. The Supreme Court in Dolan v. United States Postal Service, 546 U.S. 481, 126 S.Ct. 1252, 163 L.Ed.2d 1079 (2006), stated that “the general rule that ‘a waiver of the Government‘s sovereign immunity will be strictly construed, in terms of its scope, in favor of the sovereign,‘” did not apply in a case interpreting an exception to the FTCA. Id. at 491 (quoting Lane v. Pena, 518 U.S. 187, 192, 116 S.Ct. 2092, 135 L.Ed.2d 486 (1996)). “[T]he proper objective of a court attempting to construe one of the subsections of
The RCRA, we held, did not present “a situation in which Congress simply left unaddressed the question of damages liability under the mandatory statute.” Id. The statute‘s citizen-suit provision confers jurisdiction on district courts to “restrain” violations and order persons in violation of permits, standards, regulations, conditions, requirements, prohibitions, or orders effective under the statute to “take such other action as may be necessary.”
It is clear that Congress did not intend that the CWA authorize civil tort actions against the federal government for damages. The plaintiffs’ theory that they may sue under the FTCA for alleged CWA violations is expressly barred by the intent
In Sea Clammers, the Supreme Court held that both the structure and legislative history of the CWA dictate that “Congress intended that private remedies in addition to those expressly provided [in the CWA] should not be implied.” Id. at 18. It reasoned that “[w]here, as here, Congress has made clear that implied private actions are not contemplated, the courts are not authorized to ignore this legislative judgment.” Id. The Court emphasized that the Senate Report for the Act “placed particular emphasis on the limited nature of the citizen suits being authorized.” Id. at 18 n. 27 (citing S.Rep. No. 92-414, at 81 (1971)). It also emphasized that “the citizen-suit provision of the [CWA] was expressly modeled on the parallel provision of the Clean Air Act,” and that the “legislative history of the latter Act contains explicit indications that private enforcement suits were intended to be limited to the injunctive relief expressly provided for.” Id.
Sea Clammers does not only demand the conclusion that Congress intended to foreclose the availability of compensatory damages under the CWA. The decision also supports the conclusion, required by Abreu, that this clear congressional intent is relevant in determining the availability of an action for damages under the FTCA. See Abreu, 468 F.3d at 30. In Sea Clammers, the Court held that “[w]hen the remedial devices provided in a particular Act are sufficiently comprehensive, they may suffice to demonstrate congressional intent to preclude the remedy of suits under [
As in Abreu, “allowing the recovery of damages in a FTCA suit, based on the violation of a mandatory permitting requirement” under a federal statute that precludes compensatory damages “would undermine the intent of Congress.” Abreu, 468 F.3d at 32. For the reasons already articulated in Abreu, moreover, “the waiver of sovereign immunity reflected in various statutes must be interpreted in light of significant policies reflected in other related federal statutes.” Id. at 30. Sea Clammers makes clear that the decision not to permit damages under the CWA is a significant policy of that statute, and a policy significant enough to demand the conclusion that Congress intended the CWA to foreclose the availabili-
The plaintiffs seek to evade this conclusion by arguing that our Abreu decision was inconsistent with previously decided Supreme Court precedent and with decisions of other courts. That is not so. With respect to the Supreme Court precedent, they argue that Abreu is inconsistent with Gaubert, as well as general statements by the Supreme Court that the FTCA‘s exceptions should not be construed in an “unduly generous” fashion, see Kosak, 465 U.S. at 853 n. 9; see also Block v. Neal, 460 U.S. 289, 298, 103 S.Ct. 1089, 75 L.Ed.2d 67 (1983). With respect to the decisions from beyond this circuit, the plaintiffs invoke a pair of district court decisions that postdate Abreu. See In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consol. Litig., 647 F.Supp.2d 644 (E.D.La.2009); Adams v. United States, No. 03-0049, 2006 WL 3314571 (D.Idaho Nov. 14, 2006). They argue that these decisions demand that we confine Abreu to its facts and allow their present FTCA claim to proceed. We disagree.
A panel of this court is ordinarily “constrained by prior panel decisions directly (or even closely) on point.” United States v. Guzmán, 419 F.3d 27, 31 (1st Cir.2005). A panel is not so bound when a prior panel decision has been undermined by (1) controlling authority that postdates the decision, like a Supreme Court opinion, en banc decision of the circuit, or statutory overruling, or (2) non-controlling authority that postdates the decision that may offer “a compelling reason for believing that the former panel, in light of new developments, would change its collective mind.” Id. The second exception, we have stated, “fairly may be described as hen‘s-teeth rare.” Id.
The plaintiffs have hardly advanced an argument under the second of these exceptions, and they have advanced no argument under the first. The Supreme Court decisions do not postdate Abreu. Indeed, the Abreu panel carefully considered how the Supreme Court‘s decision in Gaubert informed its analysis and how other Supreme Court precedent informed the breadth of exceptions to FTCA liability. The two district court opinions from beyond this circuit do not suffice to meet the exacting standard of the second exception.7
B. The Claim Concerning Depleted Uranium Bullets
A court inquiring into whether an FTCA claim falls within the discretionary function exception must first “identify the conduct that allegedly caused the harm.” Muniz-Rivera v. United States, 326 F.3d 8, 15 (1st Cir.2003); see also Irving v. United States, 162 F.3d 154, 162 (1st Cir. 1998) (en banc). This inquiry is a factual one. When facts relevant to a jurisdictional question are dispositive of both that jurisdictional question and portions of the merits, a
The parties largely agree on the facts concerning the firing of 263 uranium bullets described in the Navy‘s April 1999 letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its accompanying report. They diverge, however, on whether additional incidents involving the firing of uranium bullets occurred on Vieques, and on whether the firing of uranium bullets caused the injuries alleged by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs argue that their allegations are sufficient to raise disputed material facts. To do so, they must “identify specific facts derived from pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions and affidavits.” Magee v. United States, 121 F.3d 1, 2 (1st Cir.1997). As we have held, “[i]t is a long standing principle of this Circuit that bald assertions and unsupportable conclusions are not enough to create a genuine issue of material fact.” Rojas-Ithier v. Sociedad Espanola de Auxilio Mutuo y Beneficiencia de P.R., 394 F.3d 40, 44 (1st Cir.2005).
The plaintiffs fall short of this standard for several reasons. They rely on one unnamed study for the proposition that depleted uranium bullets caused their injuries. In the portion of their complaint alleging the harm, they made no reference to uranium or radioactive materials. Instead, they referred to concentrations of certain heavy metals. The complaint did reference uranium in a brief description of the unexploded ordnance on the island and in a brief account of the alleged incident involving the 263 rounds, but these refer-ences have not been supported. These allegations are also not on par with the plaintiffs’ other allegations concerning the breadth of the Navy‘s discretion. The complaint only cursorily mentioned the incident involving depleted uranium bullets as evidence of a larger pattern of pollution; it focused on allegations of causation concerning pollutants that the plaintiffs do not address on appeal.
Even if the plaintiffs had raised a material fact that the Navy‘s firing of depleted uranium bullets caused the injuries they allege (as they have not), they have failed to adequately allege that the challenged conduct was non-discretionary, assuming Gaubert would apply here. Under Gaubert, conduct does not involve an element of judgment or choice if a “federal statute, regulation, or policy specifically prescribes a course of action for an employee to follow.” Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 322 (emphasis added) (quoting Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 536) (internal quotation marks omitted). Without this specificity requirement, we have held, “the discretionary function exception would be a dead letter.” Shansky, 164 F.3d at 691.
This court has repeatedly rejected arguments that conduct was non-discretionary under Gaubert when FTCA plaintiffs have identified only vague, permissive, or unidentified requirements for government conduct. See, e.g., Muniz-Rivera, 326 F.3d at 16; Shansky, 164 F.3d at 691-92; Irving, 162 F.3d at 163-66. It is not sufficient for a plaintiff to identify a statute, regulation, or policy that contains mandatory directives; directives must be “directly applicable” to the challenged conduct. Muniz-Rivera, 326 F.3d at 16; see also Irving, 162 F.3d at 163 (holding that because regulations did not mandate “a particular modus operandi” for government employees or “otherwise materially restrict [their] flexibility,” they did not ren-
The plaintiffs here contend that they have identified policies that specifically eliminate the Navy‘s discretion with respect to the firing of depleted uranium bullets. They have not, however, introduced the language of these permits or situated them within a broader regulatory scheme. The Navy letter and accompanying report plaintiffs rely on is surely more than an “unsubstantiated recollection of an unidentified policy statement,” see id., but the content of these purported requirements remains unclear. The letter only states that there has been a violation of the permit requirements; it does not identify the content of those requirements. The only concrete requirements referenced in the report pertain to internal Navy procedure concerning ammunition classifications, which is not connected in any way to either of the permits.
As we held in Irving, moreover, the Gaubert analysis requires attention to how a particular agency announces policy. Irving, 162 F.3d at 165. An agency may promulgate regulations on some topics but not others, it may rely on internal guidelines instead of published regulations, it may announce policy through rulemaking and adjudication, and so on. See id. These practices inform whether an agency statement constitutes a mandatory policy statement for purposes of the discretionary function exception; in Irving, for ex-ample, we could “well imagine that resort to informal indicia may be justified either when an agency‘s legislative rules define the conduct of some employees, but not others . . . or when legislative rules create ambiguity.” Id. Here, the plaintiffs have failed to show that the purported permits, even if they limit the firing of depleted uranium bullets, are mandatory in the relevant sense.
Our Abreu decision gives a further, related reason to reject the argument that this FTCA claim should go forward on the ground that the Navy‘s conduct was non-discretionary. In Abreu, we recognized that congressional intent may foreclose a claim for damages against the United States premised on violations of federal law. Abreu, 468 F.3d at 29-32. Because the plaintiffs have neither introduced the text of the permits upon which they rely nor identified the statutory context governing the alleged permits, they have not come close to establishing that Congress intended that damages be available or unavailable for violations of the two alleged permits. In light of the many cases cautioning against interference with discretionary military authority, moreover, this is a particularly significant omission. See id. at 28.
The plaintiffs contend that they cannot produce the text of the two permits because the district court erroneously denied their motion for jurisdictional discovery. Even were the claim not waived,8 we would reject it. A district court has discretion to defer pre-trial discovery pending resolution of a jurisdictional question when “the record indicates that discovery is unnecessary (or, at least, is unlikely to be useful)
C. The Claims Based on Unnamed Internal Requirements
The same basic reasoning applies to the plaintiffs’ argument that unnamed internal requirements establish that the Navy‘s conduct was non-discretionary. The plaintiffs argue that while they have not identified any specific regulations, policies, directives, or orders, their allegations are sufficient to support “the reasonable inference” that such requirements exist for purposes of the pleading standard outlined in Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937. But the plaintiffs’ allegations say nothing of the specific content of the alleged internal directives, what these alleged directives require, or how the alleged requirements relate to the challenged conduct.
D. Claim of Alleged Failure to Warn
As in Abreu, the plaintiffs here cannot contest that “the military activities carried out by the Navy on Vieques over the past several decades have involved discretionary decision-making of the most fundamental kind, requiring balancing competing concerns of secrecy and safety, national security and public health.” Abreu, 468 F.3d at 26 (internal quotation marks omitted). The plaintiffs nonetheless allege that the Navy allowed them to enter, graze cattle, and fish in polluted areas of Vieques without providing further warning about pollution levels, and that this alleged decision was not susceptible to policy analysis. The plaintiffs’ argument does not raise the question of whether the alleged emitting of pollution itself was susceptible to policy-related considerations, only whether there was a duty to warn that was not susceptible to policy-related judgments. The source of this alleged non-discretionary duty to warn suffers from vagueness and indeterminacy9 and so, as explained earlier, fails to meet the Gaubert requirements. In addition, the theory of liability has other flaws.
In two recent cases, this circuit rejected analogous arguments that safety concerns dictated a specific course of conduct that could not be subject to policy analysis. Shansky, 164 F.3d at 693 (rejecting the argument that “when safety becomes an issue, all else must yield“); Irving, 162 F.3d at 168 (holding that the purpose of OSHA is “to provide for a satisfactory standard of safety, not to guarantee absolute safety“); see also Shuman v. United States, 765 F.2d 283 (1st Cir.1985) (Navy protected from liability under the discre-
The plaintiffs do not address these cases and instead rely on out-of-circuit cases which neither bind us nor support their argument.10 In particular, the plaintiffs rely on Andrulonis v. United States, 952 F.2d 652 (2d Cir.1991), and Whisnant v. United States, 400 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2005). In Andrulonis, a government researcher contracted rabies after his supervisor failed to warn him about dangerous conditions in the laboratory where he worked. Id. at 653. The Second Circuit held that no policy considerations could explain a failure to warn about such “obvious, easily-correctable dangers in experiments.” Id. at 655. In Whisnant, the plaintiff alleged that he became ill because the government negligently failed to address “toxic mold” at a commissary on a Naval base. Id. at 1179-80. The Ninth Circuit agreed, holding that the mold presented an “obvious health hazard,” id. at 1183, and that “a failure to adhere to accepted professional standards is not susceptible to a policy analysis,” id. (quoting Bear Medicine v. United States ex rel. Sec‘y of the Dep‘t of Interior, 241 F.3d 1208, 1217 (9th Cir.2001)) (internal quotation mark omitted).
The present case does not present a situation akin to those in Andrulonis and Whisnant. Unlike the obvious, easily-correctable danger at issue in Andrulonis, the plaintiffs do not challenge an obvious health hazard or an easily-correctable danger from environmental effects.11 Instead, the plaintiffs argue that the Navy assumed certain obligations concerning disclosure of pollution given that it detonated and fired live ammunition on Vieques during inherently polluting military exercises. Nor do the plaintiffs assert that the Navy‘s conduct violated a professional set of guidelines like the professional guidelines at issue in Whisnant. Their argument instead amounts to the assertion that the pollution at issue here was known to be significant during the operations, and that therefore questions related to disclosure could not be subject to policy considerations.
This argument ignores that the Navy, like other agencies, must weigh competing interests between “secrecy and safety, national security and public health.” Abreu, 468 F.3d at 26 (internal quotation mark omitted).
Turning to the issue of failure to warn, in fact, it was well known the Navy was engaged in such military exercises. “[I]n 1977, the government of Puerto Rico initiated litigation which eventually resulted in a district court order requiring the Navy to comply with certain federal environmental statutes. . . .” Abreu, 468 F.3d at 23. The Navy obtained an interim permit for the AFWTF in 1980. Id. at 24. In 1983, the Navy and the government of Puerto Rico entered into a Memorandum of Understanding under which the Navy made certain changes in the AFWTF. Id. The plaintiffs do not and cannot make the claim that the Navy never provided any notice of the environmental impact of its activities.
Both courts, while noting the existence of safety risks, held that the government‘s interests in security, secrecy, and public order were also relevant in its decision whether to make disclosures to the public. Whether to warn the public about the munitions, the D.C. Circuit held, “required balancing ‘competing concerns of secrecy and safety, national security and public health.‘” Loughlin, 393 F.3d at 164 (quoting Loughlin v. United States, 286 F.Supp.2d 1, 23 (D.D.C.2003)). Similarly, whether to warn the public about the radiation, the Ninth Circuit held, “required balancing the magnitude of the risk from radiation exposure” against “the potential consequences of creating public anxiety and the health hazards inherent in the medical responses to the warning.” Atmospheric Testing, 820 F.2d at 997.
The plaintiffs attempt to distinguish these two cases by arguing that the Navy allegedly actively facilitated their exposure to health hazards, whereas the government actors in Loughlin and Atmospheric Testing did not. The plaintiffs have made no specific allegations that the government actively facilitated such exposure. They rely only on a range manual stating that the Navy occasionally allowed fishermen to retrieve traps from “adjacent waters” and a single journal article that states, without citation, that the Navy allowed farmers to graze cows in areas of the AFWTF. At most, these allegations show that on limited occasions the Navy permitted access to lands and waters in what was a discretionary decision. Plaintiffs do not claim that a statute or regulation mandated a duty to even do that, much less anything more than that. Moreover, these allegedly facilitative actions are no different from the facts in Loughlin and Atmospheric Testing, where the government also allegedly allowed members of the public to be exposed to pollutants.
In their reply brief, the plaintiffs also advance a variety of more minute factual distinctions between this case and both Loughlin and Atmospheric Testing. None of these distinctions are relevant here. We do not rely on these two cases as binding authority. Rather, we rely on them as illustrative of the proposition that disclosures about safety risks attendant to military operations may be subject to other policy considerations. Here, the government had reason to be concerned with the national security implications of disclosing information about its operations on Vieques.
Numerous cases in the courts of appeals hold that the government‘s decision whether to warn about the presence of toxins, carcinogens, or poisons falls under the discretionary function exception to the FTCA‘s waiver of sovereign immunity. See Ross v. United States, 129 Fed.Appx. 449 (10th Cir.2005) (discretionary function exception applied to Air Force‘s decision whether and how to warn neighbors of
The law as announced by the Supreme Court requires dismissal of the claim. It is clear that the Navy engaged in both choice and judgment as to who had permission to be in AFWTF lands and waters and what was said about that access. See Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 325 (discretionary function exception reached decisions made by federal regulators in overseeing savings and loan association‘s operations); Boyle v. United Techs. Corp., 487 U.S. 500, 511, 108 S.Ct. 2510, 101 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988) (selection of appropriate design for military equipment to be used by the Armed Forces is a discretionary function); Varig Airlines, 467 U.S. at 819-20 (discretionary function exception barred claims based on FAA‘s alleged negligence in implementing and applying a “spot-check” system of compliance review). It is also clear that this exercise of discretion is susceptible to policy-related judgments. The Navy‘s choices were not pursuant to meeting the regulatory requirements of another agency, but pursuant to its judgment as to how it conducted its military operations. As the government‘s brief says, “With respect
The Supreme Court has made clear that federal courts are constrained not to interfere with the exercise of such discretion by any agency, and that is particularly so in the running of military operations. No concerns are raised as to civilian control of the military. In a case reversing an injunction against the Navy for alleged NEPA violations, the Supreme Court noted, “‘To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.’ . . . One of the most important ways the Navy prepares for war is through integrated training exercises at sea.” Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 129 S.Ct. 365, 370, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008) (quoting 1 Messages and Papers of the Presidents 57 (J. Richardson comp. 1897) (statement of Pres. George Washington)). Courts “give great deference to the professional judgment of military authorities concerning the relative importance of a particular military interest.” Id. at 377 (quoting Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S. 503, 507, 106 S.Ct. 1310, 89 L.Ed.2d 478 (1986)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Plaintiffs do not even claim that these judgment calls violated mandatory federal law.
It is not the role of the courts to second-guess the Navy‘s conclusions after it weighed these competing considerations. See Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 323. As a result, the courts have been stripped of their jurisdiction over this claim and may not entertain this cause of action.
III.
For the reasons stated above, the dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint was required by law.
This opinion takes no position on whether the Navy‘s operations on Vieques have had adverse health effects on the island‘s residents. It holds only that the plaintiffs have not stated a valid claim for damages under the FTCA.
Nonetheless, while the majority‘s view is that the dismissal of the suit must be affirmed, and the dissent disagrees, the plaintiffs’ pleadings, taken as true, raise serious health concerns. The government has acknowledged the existence of these concerns.12 The majority and the dissent agree that these issues should be brought to the attention of Congress. The Clerk of Court is instructed to send a copy of this opinion to the leadership of both the House and Senate.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed. No costs are awarded.
TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge (Dissenting).
The majority strikes a melancholic chord in its treatment and analysis of the Plaintiffs’ allegations in this case. Sadly, this is the same chord that has reverberated throughout the long-standing continuum of disputes and grievances between the Unit-
The first chapter of this sorry tale commenced in 1941, when the United States expropriated the overwhelming majority of the lands in Vieques and Culebra, thereafter declaring them to be military reservations. In the remaining areas there existed, and continue to exist to this day, full scale civilian communities with organized municipal governments that are fully integrated to the rest of the political system of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.13 These communities were thereafter encapsulated within the surrounding federal lands.14
Since the Government of the United States took possession of these lands, the U.S. Navy has almost continuously conducted military exercises involving air, naval, and field artillery bombardments with live and inert munitions on both Culebra and Vieques, as well as amphibious and land operations by the Marine Corps, the latter of which predominantly took place in Vieques.15 The seething, unresolved controversies generated by these activities, affecting the daily lives of the civilian residents of Vieques and Culebra, as well as a significant number of the general population of Puerto Rico, led to predictable consequences.
In 1975, the Navy was forced to terminate its operations in Culebra16 and to transfer its aerial and naval bombardments to Vieques. Because of the resulting increased intensity of these activities in Vieques17—an island with a substantially larger civilian population than that of Culebra—matters were exacerbated to the point that these actions became politically untenable for the Navy,18 forcing it to to-
This Court has played an important role in this unhappy tale, having contributed in no small way to buttressing one side of the United States-Culebra/Vieques conundrum in a plethora of civil and criminal cases,22 the outcome of which, in retro-
This Court‘s dissonant tune reaches a crescendo in the present case with the majority‘s incorrect finding that Plaintiffs’ complaint fails to allege sufficient facts to overcome the government‘s motion to dismiss pursuant to
I.
On September 5, 2007, Juanita Sanchez, on behalf of her minor child, Debora Rivera-Sanchez, and 7,124 additional residents of Vieques, filed their complaint in this case.23 The United States responded by filing a motion to dismiss pursuant to
Although the majority pays lip service to the well-established rule that on a
This Court “afford[s] plenary review to a district court‘s order of dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.” Muniz-Rivera v. United States, 326 F.3d 8, 11 (1st Cir.2003). “At the pleading stage, such an order is appropriate only when the facts alleged in the complaint, taken as true, do not justify the exercise of subject matter jurisdiction.” Id. In assessing whether the plaintiff has put forward an adequate basis for jurisdiction, “the court must credit the plaintiff‘s well-pleaded factual allegations (usually taken from the complaint, but sometimes augmented by an explanatory affidavit or other repository of uncontested facts), draw all reasonable inferences from them in [the plaintiff‘s] favor, and dispose of the challenge accordingly.” Valentin v. Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d 358, 363 (1st Cir.2001). See also Merlonghi, 620 F.3d at 54 (on a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction the court may
This standard is the same as is applied on a
Per the Iqbal decision, we described the “two-pronged approach implicit in [] Twombly,” pursuant to which we must first separate a complaint‘s factual allegations from its legal conclusions. Ocasio-Hernandez, 640 F.3d at 10. “The second prong ... requires a reviewing court to accept the remaining factual allegations in the complaint as true and to evaluate whether, taken as a whole, they state a facially plausible claim.” Id. at 10-11 (emphasis added). Moreover, “[n]on-conclusory factual allegations must [] be treated as true, even if seemingly incredible.” Id. at 12 (citing Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1951). We emphasized that the court should not “attempt to forecast a plaintiff‘s likelihood of success on the merits,” and instead should “evaluate the cumulative effect of the factual allegations.” Id. at 13-14. In short, “[t]he question confronting a court on a motion to dismiss is whether all the facts alleged, when viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, render the plaintiff‘s [sic] entitlement to relief plausible.” Id. at 14 (relying on Twombly, 550 U.S. at 569 n. 14, 127 S.Ct. 1955).
Applying these guidelines to the allegations raised in the complaint and to all of the relevant evidence proffered in support of jurisdiction, Merlonghi, 620 F.3d at 54, it is clear that Plaintiffs in this case have met their jurisdictional burden. It is also obvious that the majority has failed to judge the complaint by the rules that have just been recited.
II.
I begin with the incontrovertible proposition that Plaintiffs are suing under the
Leaving aside for the moment the issue of the discretionary function exception, Plaintiffs allege eight causes of action under Puerto Rico law which, if proven, would allow them to recover compensatory damages from the Navy as if it were “a private individual in like circumstances.”
As previously detailed, since the 1940s, and until 2003, the Navy owned approximately 22,000 of Vieques‘s 33,000 acres and employed them for use as a training ground and live ordnance range. At a minimum, at least as far back as 1979, when Romero-Barcelo v. Brown, 478 F.Supp. 646 (D.P.R.1979), aff‘d in part, vacated in part, 643 F.2d 835 (1st Cir.1981), rev‘d sub nom. Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305, 102 S.Ct. 1798, 72 L.Ed.2d 91 (1982), was decided,26 the Navy was made aware of the maximum concentrations of various toxic substances that were legally allowed to be deposited in the waters of Vieques.27 Pursuant to my order in that case, the Navy sought an NPDES permit. Thereafter, Permit No. PRG990001 (the “Permit“) was issued to the Navy on October 30, 1984 for its AFWTF operations. See Authorization To Discharge Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, 49 Fed.
Plaintiffs allege in their complaint, and the record reflects, that from 1985 through 1999, the Navy reported measurements of discharges of heavy metals and other materials into the waters of eastern Vieques, which contained lead, barium, cadmium, arsenic, boron, cyanide, hexavalent chromium, and thirteen other substances in violation of the
Plaintiffs claim that notwithstanding the “web of reporting requirements ... [, which] should have triggered a warning to the people of Vieques, many of whom live off the land by eating fish and fowl and local wildlife,” the Navy not only failed to warn Plaintiffs of these hazards, but in fact facilitated their exposure to them by allowing fishermen and cattlemen to enter the AFWTF to engage in these activities. Plaintiffs proffered an article published in 2005 by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, which indicates that “[f]rom 1984 to 2000, the U.S. Navy allowed local farmers to graze cows in the eastern part of Vieques including at the AFWTF. The potential for direct exposure and the impact on human health is exemplified by this pathway.”28 This assertion is supported by language in the Range Manual for the AFWTF, also proffered into evidence, indicating the following at parts 404(d) and (e):
Livestock. Cattle graze on land extending into the [Eastern Maneuvering Area]. Cattle and wild horses often wander into the [Live Impact Area] and should never be intentionally fired upon....
Fishing Activity. Fish traps are set off the eastern half of Vieques ... Fishermen often set traps in OPAREAs A, B, C, D and H of R-7104 ... and recover traps when the range is cold. Surface units shall watch for these floats to avoid running them over.
The Range Manual further indicates that “[t]he [i]nner range is closed every Tuesday and Friday from 0700Q-0900Q to permit local fishermen to retrieve fishing traps from adjacent waters.” It is alleged that this pattern of allowing fishermen and cattlemen to enter the AFWTF not only exposed those citizens directly to the hazards of the contaminants, but also subjected the rest of the residents of Vieques to the same, such as Plaintiffs who consumed the products of fishing and grazing activities.
Indeed, the complaint provides the following allegations: detection of benzene and toluene in the groundwater under the civilian sectors of Vieques; detection of high concentrations of lead, cadmium, manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel in the vegetation; high concentrations of arsenic, iron, nickel, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, lead, and copper “in the sea grasses on and surrounding Vieques“; high concentrations of cadmium and lead detected in the crab population; and high amounts of mercury, selenium, arsenic, and zinc detected in fish populations. Additionally, the Plaintiffs reference studies conducted in February and March of 2000 by biologist Dr. Arturo Massol-Deyá and radiochemist Elba Díaz, who found unacceptably high levels of cadmium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese in crabs. According to Dr. Massol, further studies show that vegetables and crops in civilian areas were highly contaminated with lead, cadmium, copper, and other metals; plants had ten times more lead and three times more cadmium than samples from the Puerto Rico mainland, as well as excessive amounts of nickel, cobalt, magnesium, and copper; and goats grazing in the AFWTF‘s grasslands contained five to seven times more cadmium, six times more cobalt, and five times more aluminum than those found in the Puerto Rican mainland.
The complaint further claims specific harm to Vieques residents, alleging “[t]hat according to hair studies done to determine the presence of heavy metals in humans on Vieques[,] the following contaminants were discovered in Vieques residents: [t]oxic levels of mercury; [t]oxic levels of lead []; [a]rsenic contamination; [c]admium contamination; [a]luminum contamination; [and a]ntimony contamination.” The complaint also alleges that “scientific studies have found the following non-native contaminants in high concentrations in the people of Vieques: cobalt, copper, nickel, vanadium, palladium, iron, magnesium, manganese, silicon, cerium, dysprosium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, silver, ytterbium, and tellurium.” Specifically, studies of hair samples from Vieques residents collected by Dr. John Wargo, a professor of Risk Analysis and Environmental Policy at Yale University, showed high levels of mercury and other contaminants, including lead, cadmium and arsenic; studies carried out by Dr. Carmen Ortiz Roque, an epidemiologist and physician, also confirmed these findings. It is additionally claimed that residents of Vieques experience a 30% higher cancer rate, a 381% higher hypertension rate, a 95% higher cirrhosis rate, and a 41% higher diabetes rate than persons in the rest of Puerto Rico. Further, studies reflect that as a result of the Navy‘s activities in Vieques, the island‘s infant mortality rates have increased since 1980, and babies born in Vieques have a 33% low-weight rate, as well as a pre-term deliv
The complaint further alleges that tests performed on hair samples from Plaintiff Debora Rivera-Sánchez, a 9-year-old female resident of Vieques, found toxic levels of lead, cadmium, and aluminum; Plaintiff Lionel Colón-Adams, a 9-year-old male resident of Vieques, similarly alleges that tests performed on his hair samples yielded toxic levels of aluminum, arsenic, lead, and cadmium. Plaintiff Rivera-Sánchez also alleges that she has been diagnosed to be suffering from anemia and stomach problems, while Plaintiff Colón-Ayala claims to have been diagnosed with respiratory and stomach problems. Both plaintiffs claim that, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)—which is a federal public health agency that is a part of the U.S. Department of Health—the toxic elements found in their hair samples correlate with the diseases from which they are suffering.29
Thus, in brief, given the record before us on appeal and considering the applicable standard for
- The Navy has been conducting operations in and around Vieques since the early 1940s.
- These operations have caused substantial toxic substances, among them arsenic, boron, cyanide, hexavalent chromium, and thirteen other toxic substances (e.g., benzene and toluene), to be introduced into the Vieques environment, including into the air, soil, sea, ground water, vegetation, sea grasses, fauna, and fish in and around the island, both within the AFWTF and the civilian sectors.
- Since at least 1979, the Navy has been aware and on notice of the toxic impact of its activities in the AFWTF. Nevertheless, it has not only continued to pollute the AFWTF with the aforementioned substances, it has allowed this pollution to impact the civilian sectors of Vieques, including Plaintiffs. Additionally, it has aggravated the consequences of this situation by inviting and allowing commercial fishing and cattle grazing to take place within the AFWTF; by failing to warn Plaintiffs of the dangerous conditions to which they were being subjected by their entry into the AFWTF; and by failing to warn the Plaintiffs that their consumption of plants, animals, and fish that had been exposed to and contaminated by the toxic substances found in the AFWTF could cause serious injury or death to them.
- Since at least 1979, the Navy has been required to comply with
NEPA (for engaging in actions that “significantly affect[] the quality of the human environment,”42 U.S.C. § 4332(C) ) and to seek and comply with an NPDES permit. Notwithstanding this obligation, since at least 1985 the Navy‘s toxic discharges into the Vieques waters exceeded the allowable limits under the Permit, which violations were duly notified to the Navy by the EPA, with no corrective action being taken. - Plaintiffs are suffering from diseases and injuries that were caused by the toxic substances that the Navy placed in the
Bearing in mind that “[i]n ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under
III.
The Navy attempts to shield itself from liability by invoking the “discretionary function” exception. Although the government did not raise this defense in its answer to Plaintiffs’ administrative claim, presenting it for the first time in their motion to dismiss, the government is allowed to engage in such sandbagging tactics. See Irving v. United States, 162 F.3d 154, 160 (1st Cir.1998) (en banc).
The majority concludes that the Navy‘s failure to warn Plaintiffs of the dangers previously described is not actionable because the decision regarding whether to warn was an exercise of discretion, and thus the discretionary function exception applies. I disagree. In considering the application of the discretionary function exception, the Court must first identify the conduct at issue. Montijo-Reyes v. United States, 436 F.3d 19, 24 (1st Cir.2006). The Court then “asks two interrelated questions: (1) Is the conduct itself discretionary? (2) If so, does the exercise of discretion involve (or is it susceptible to) policy-related judgments?” Id. (quoting Muniz-Rivera, 326 F.3d at 15) (internal quotation marks omitted).
A.
As to the first question, “[t]he requirement of judgment or choice is not satisfied if a ‘federal statute, regulation, or policy specifically prescribes a course of action for an employee to follow,’ because ‘the employee has no rightful option but to adhere to the directive.‘” United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 322, 111 S.Ct. 1267, 113 L.Ed.2d 335 (1991) (quoting Berkovitz,
In this case, Plaintiffs allege the existence of mandatory rules, specific in nature, which required Navy compliance therewith, but which were not honored by the Navy and were the cause of Plaintiffs’ injuries. To begin with, at least since Romero-Barceló in 1979, the Navy was aware that it was covered by the mandatory provisions of
Furthermore, this is a suit under the
The
Thus, the majority‘s creation of this lacuna is totally unsupported by law. If proven, Plaintiffs’ contentions would make the government liable for the resulting tort claims “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances.”
It is worth noting that Plaintiffs make additional allegations in their complaint to support their theory that the Navy is liable under the
The majority finds that these allegations do not sustain Plaintiffs’
B.
As to the second inquiry in the discretionary function analysis, the majority holds that the Navy‘s failure to warn Plaintiffs of the dangers previously described was a decision subject to “policy analysis,” and thus concludes that it was an exercise of discretion that exempts the government from liability. See Maj. Op. at 99-100; see also Gaubert, 499 U.S. at 323, 111 S.Ct. 1267 (“When properly constructed, the exception protects only governmental actions and decisions based on considerations of public policy.“) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). However, it is not sufficient to simply assert that some policy analysis took place; rather, the government must show that its decision could be the result of a reasonable policy analysis. See, e.g., Shansky v. United States, 164 F.3d 688, 692 (1st Cir.1999) (conduct is susceptible to policy analysis if “some plausible policy justification could have undergirded the challenged conduct” (emphasis added)); see also Berkovitz, 486 U.S. at 539, 108 S.Ct. 1954 (“The discretionary function exception applies only to conduct that involves the permissible exercise of policy judgment.” (emphasis added)). I find it hard to see how there is any reasonable or permissible policy analysis that could justify the Navy‘s failure to warn Plaintiffs of the known dangers created by the Navy‘s violation of the laws and regulations applicable to its conduct.
In our constitutional system of government the military is subordinate to the civil authority. See Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1, 23, 77 S.Ct. 1222, 1 L.Ed.2d 1148 (1957). Thus, whatever discretion the military has, it is not without bounds. When necessary, the courts have stepped in to affirm that there are limits on what can be done in the name of national security. See e.g., Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723, 128 S.Ct. 2229, 171 L.Ed.2d 41 (2008) (holding that enemy combatants detained at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have the privilege of habeas corpus despite argument that allowing access to courts would interfere with military operations); Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 589, 72 S.Ct. 863, 96 L.Ed. 1153 (1952) (rejecting Presi
Contrary to the majority in this case, I find that the situation presented here is similar to Andrulonis v. United States, 952 F.2d 652 (2d Cir.1991). In Andrulonis, a government researcher contracted rabies after his supervisor failed to warn him about dangerous conditions in the laboratory where he worked. Andrulonis, 952 F.2d at 653. The Second Circuit held that no policy considerations could explain a failure to warn about such “obvious, easily-correctable dangers in experiments.” Id. at 655.
The majority distinguishes Andrulonis by arguing that “[u]nlike the obvious, easily correctable danger at issue in Andrulonis, the plaintiffs do not challenge an obvious health hazard or an easily-correctable danger from environmental effects.” See Maj. Op. at 100. However, it seems clear that the Plaintiffs are in fact alleging such a danger. The environmental contamination was obvious—it is undisputed that the Navy knew about it at least as far back as when Romero-Barceló was decided, see supra note 14—and the danger to civilians could have been avoided simply by warning them about the risks.
The majority points out that “the Navy ... must weigh competing interests between ‘secrecy and safety, national security and public health.‘” Maj. Op. at 100 (quoting Abreu, 468 F.3d at 26). However, while I recognize that courts must accord great deference to the military in decisions relating to national security, I cannot accept that courts must be so deferential as to effectively give the military carte blanche to put U.S. citizens in danger when the facts alleged show a clear and simple alternative, warning them of known dangers created by it. Plaintiffs here are not claiming that the Navy should have revealed classified information about tactics or weapons used at Vieques, or that they should have ceased the military activities. They are simply claiming that the Navy should have warned them as to the potential danger of entering onto, and being exposed to, contaminated property. See Pacheco v. United States, 220 F.3d 1126, 1131 (9th Cir.2000) (finding potential liability under the
making may be subject to some deference, but that cannot mean that a military department should remain immune to the nefarious consequences of its decisions upon innocent civilians.
C.
Finally, there is nothing in the language or history of the
In Abreu, this Court observed that prior Supreme Court cases invoking the rule of Gaubert had involved suits against the United States based on the activities of federal regulators, as opposed to regulated parties, and that therefore the Gaubert rule may be “inapplicable to mandatory directives aimed at a regulated party.” See Abreu, 468 F.3d at 27. I must emphasize that these observations in Abreu constitute dicta—“observations relevant, but not essential, to the determination of the legal questions then before the court“—
I suggest it would be more appropriate if the majority adhered to the Supreme Court‘s admonitions to the effect that
Furthermore, as previously stated, supra at 114-15, the Navy could have, but did not seek a Presidential exemption. I am hard put to understand why it is entitled to the judicial exemption created from whole cloth by the majority.
Nowhere does the medieval concept of “the King can do no wrong” underlying the doctrine of sovereign immunity, see Donahue v. United States, 660 F.3d 523, 526 (1st Cir.2011) (Torruella, J., concerning denial of en banc review), sound more hollow and abusive than when an imperial power applies it to a group of helpless subjects. This cannot be a proper role for the United States of America. Under the circumstances alleged in this case I posit that the application of this anachronistic and judicially invented theory, id., violates the due process clause of the Constitution. See
IV.
Lastly, I take issue with the majority‘s reference to the ATSDR‘s investigation dealing with the Navy‘s contamination of the environment in Vieques. See Maj. Op. at 103 n.12. At this procedural stage this investigation is irrelevant to the present case. See Ocasio-Hernandez, 640 F.3d at 13-14 (the merits of the issues underlying a complaint are irrelevant at the motion to dismiss stage); Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d at 363 (court must accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations without prejudging their weight or plausibility). Furthermore, although I agree with the majority calling the attention of Congress to the plight of the citizens of Vieques, an action which I join and applaud, this referral cannot be considered as an appropriate alternative or substitute to the exercise by these citizens of their right to present their legitimate claims, and to have them resolved, by a Court of the United States.
In this latest chapter to the ongoing Culebra/Vieques saga, this Court blocks Plaintiffs’ access to the courts of the United States, depriving U.S. citizens who live in Vieques of the only effective remaining forum in which to seek redress for their alleged wrongs. Access to the political forum available to most other citizens of the United States has already been blocked by this same Court. See Igartua v. United States, 654 F.3d 99, 101-02 (1st Cir.2011) (Torruella, J., concerning the denial of en banc consideration); see also Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298, 308-09, 42 S.Ct. 343, 66 L.Ed. 627 (1922) (describing the limited “civil, social, and political” rights that attach to United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico). I for one, protest this intolerable and undemocratic situation in the strongest of terms.
I dissent.