Rocky L. Freeman v. Unit Manager J. Lincalis, et al.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiff on a Federal Tort Claims Act claim.



Rocky Freeman was tried for two murders but was acquitted of one. His presentence report mistakenly stated that he had committed both murders. A judge ordered that the mistake be corrected. It was not. Eighteen years later, Freeman learned of this error. He sued, alleging that he had been subjected to heightened prison security conditions because of the error. He contends that the government is liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for negligent transmission of his PSR and failure to correct it and that the federal officials responsible are individually liable under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics1 for a denial of due process. Freeman now appeals an order dismissing those claims.



nder the FTCA, the United States is liable for most torts to the same extent as any other litigant.



28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1) provides that "[s]ubject to the provisions of chapter 171 of this title, the district courts . . .

shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims against the United States” under the FTCA.35 One such

provision is 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a), which states that an "action shall not be instituted” under the FTCA "unless the claimant

shall have first presented the claim to the appropriate Federal agency.”

On March 17, the District Court ruled on the dispositive motions. It dismissed Freeman’s FTCA claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) because Freeman sent his SF- 95 to the wrong address. Alternatively, the court also found

that his claim failed on the merits, and granted summary judgment to the government under Rule 56(a). It dismissed his Bivens claim under Rule 4(m) for failure to serve the probation officers.



The District Court erred in dismissing Freeman's claim for lack of jurisdiction.



The United States’ liability for an FTCA claim is based on “the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.”



Reversed