Moore v. United States

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland considered Brian Moore’s Federal Tort Claims Act claim arising from a 2021 use-of-force incident at FCI-Cumberland. The court held that the discretionary-function exception to the FTCA deprived it of subject-matter jurisdiction and dismissed the amended complaint without prejudice. The court also denied Moore’s motion for reconsideration.

Holdings

1. The discretionary-function exception applied because the officers' responses to Moore's verbal and physical resistance involved judgment and choice, were not controlled by a mandatory directive, and were grounded in public-policy considerations concerning safety and institutional security. The exception therefore deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction, requiring dismissal without prejudice.
2. Moore's motion for reconsideration was denied because it primarily expressed disagreement with the court's prior factual wording and rulings, which did not provide grounds to revisit the interlocutory order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the discretionary-function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act deprived the district court of subject matter jurisdiction over Moore's claim based on federal correctional officers' use of force.
2. Whether Moore was entitled to reconsideration under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) based on his disagreement with the court's prior factual characterization and rulings.

Disposition

dismissed