Bunch v. U.S.

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant-federal govt.’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) action alleging that forensic chemist with federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms fabricated report that wrongfully linked plaintiff to cause of fire in her home that resulted in her wrongful murder conviction. While Dist. Ct. found that defendant was entitled to sovereign immunity based on holding that intentional-tort exception to general waiver of sovereign immunity found in FTCA applied so as to preclude plaintiff from bringing instant malicious prosecution claim, Ct. of Appeals held that record was unclear as to whether forensic chemist status/job duties within Bureau allowed him to identify relevant evidence for colleagues during crime scene investigations. As such, record was not developed fully enough to support Dist. Ct.’s finding that chemist lacked necessary power to search, seize evidence or arrest so as to qualify as “investigation or law enforcement officer,” which, if forensic chemist qualified as said officer, would allow general waiver of sovereign immunity to apply to plaintiff’s lawsuit.