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373 F.2d 795

Docket No. 15816.

Sopp v. United States

Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Argued Sept. 29, 1966.

Decided Oct. 12, 1966.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 8, 1967.

Third Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1966-10-12

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently November 2006

1 federal appellate ·

2 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“[a]ny claim arising out of . . . false imprisonment”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Snow-Erlin v. United States

Applies 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (Federal Tort Claims Act) · 28 U.S.C. § 2680

Relies on Blitz v. Boog · Tinkoff v. United States

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1966-10-12

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1George W. Schroeck, Erie, Pa., for appellant.

¶2Harvey L. Zuckman, Appellate Section, Civil Division, Dept, of Justice, Washington, D. C. (John W. Douglas, Asst. Atty. Gen., Gustave Diamond, U. S. Atty., David L. Rose, Atty., Dept, of Justice, Washington, D. C., on the brief), for appellee.

¶3Before HASTIE, SMITH and SEITZ, Circuit Judges.

¶4PER CURIAM:

¶5In this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), the plaintiff has appealed from an order granting a motion of the United States for summary judgment.

¶6From the complaint and an uncontroverted affidavit filed in support of the motion for summary judgment, it clearly appears that all of the harm of which the plaintiff has complained resulted from her arrest on an ill-founded charge that she was the writer of certain obscene communications soliciting the commission of sodomy. It also appears that the obscene communications had been *796sent through the mail and were investigated by a United States postal inspector in the course of his duties. This inspector also obtained specimens of the plaintiff’s handwriting and subsequently surrendered them together with the obscene matter to local authorities who, in turn, had the plaintiff arrested and prosecuted for the solicitation of sodomy in violation of state law. It was later determined that a person other than the plaintiff was the wrongdoer.

¶7In authorizing suits against the United States for injury caused by the negligent or wrongful conduct of government employees acting within the scope of their duties, Congress has expressly precluded suits against the government on any “claim arising out of … false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, misrepresentation, deceit … 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). The district court concluded that this was such an action. We agree. Cf. Blitz v. Boog, 2d Cir., 1964, 328 F.2d 596; Tinkoff v. United States, 7th Cir., 1954, 211 F.2d 890.

¶8The judgment will be affirmed.

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