TASHIMA, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiffs are two prisoners housed at Taft Correctional Institution ("Taft"), the only federally-owned and contractor-operated prison in the country. In 2003, Taft was struck by an outbreak of coccidioidomycosis ("cocci"), colloquially referred to as "Valley Fever." In most individuals, cocci manifests primarily as a minor fever. In an unlucky few, however, the disease takes a different, more devastating course — it causes a number of painful conditions, and can be fatal. Plaintiffs, along with an unprecedented number of other prisoners, contracted cocci while incarcerated at Taft. Both developed the more dangerous form.
Plaintiffs assert, under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), that the United States breached its duty to protect them from harm. The FTCA holds the government liable for its torts to the same extent as a private individual in similar
The district court granted the government's motions to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), under the independent contractor exception to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2671. Plaintiffs timely appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we reverse.
Taft is located in California's southern San Joaquin Valley. Although the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") owns Taft, independent contractors operate the prison. This arrangement is unique within the BOP.
In 1997, Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, now known as The GEO Group, Inc. ("GEO"), was awarded a ten-year contract to operate Taft. In 2007, the BOP awarded a similar contract to Management & Training Corporation ("MTC"). MTC continues to operate Taft pursuant to its contract with the BOP. Both contracts assigned to the contractor the day-to-day operations of the prison, including the maintenance of buildings and the provision of medical care. A BOP employee who worked at Taft confirmed that "[n]o BOP employee was responsible for inmate safety and security, building and grounds maintenance, sanitation, health services, inmate orientation, inmate education, inmate recreation, inmate employment, inmate discipline, or any other aspect" of Taft's day-to-day operations. Yet, both contracts also reserved to the government the right to construct new buildings, expand existing buildings, and modify or add to the mechanical or utility systems of existing buildings.
In 2003, an epidemic of coccidioidomycosis struck Taft. Cocci is an infectious disease caused by inhalation of Coccidioides immitis, a fungus that lives in the San Joaquin Valley soil. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), "[s]ymptomatic coccidioidomycosis, which occurs in approximately 40% of all infections, has a wide clinical spectrum, including mild influenza-like illness, severe pneumonia, and disseminated disease."
Taft is located in a region with one of the highest concentrations of the cocci fungus. In 2003, the number of prisoners infected at Taft reached epidemic numbers. Infections reportedly more than doubled between 2003 and 2005. The warden of Taft admitted there were "more cases of diagnosed Valley Fever [at Taft] than in all other federal prisons combined." Several prisoners subsequently developed the disseminated form of the disease, and at least one died.
In response to the outbreak, the BOP contacted the CDC. Together, the agencies were to develop a plan addressing the epidemic at Taft. Plaintiffs presented evidence that, although the original plan included protocols for prevention, in addition to diagnosis and treatment, the BOP subsequently reversed course, abandoning its prevention efforts to focus exclusively on early diagnosis and treatment. Except for a small population of uninfected but immunocompromised prisoners, the final policy provided for only those individuals already infected with cocci. While formulating this policy, BOP officials sent an internal email requiring that all CDC and BOP employees coordinate policy efforts through the office of the BOP's medical team. The BOP specifically excluded its contractors from participating in policy development, mandating that "all CDC and BOP employees cease discussions with other parties (including any third-party contractors...)." For prisoners who develop any form of cocci, including disseminated cocci, while incarcerated, The BOP provides no post-release medical care.
The BOP's contractors also took action. Around 2003 or 2004, GEO increased the frequency of various maintenance programs. GEO assigned prisoners to dust more regularly, wipe down the walls in the dormitories, and vacuum the overhead sprinklers where dust could accumulate. In addition, air filters in the ventilation system were replaced more frequently. GEO closed the recreation yard on windy days, because on those days the fungus becomes airborne, increasing the risk of infection.
According to its contract with the BOP, GEO was also responsible for providing healthcare to infected prisoners. Accordingly, GEO distributed information sheets about cocci to prisoners at the Health Services Unit. Starting in 2004, GEO also posted flyers describing cocci and its symptoms on bulletin boards outside the bathrooms in prisoner housing units. The flyers advised prisoners to report to the Health Services Unit if they began to experience symptoms. After taking over Taft's operations in 2007, MTC created a written protocol for the intake, screening, and treatment of prisoners admitted to the health facility with symptoms of cocci. The protocol, however, did not address prevention.
On September 21, 2005, Plaintiff-Appellant Gregory Edison, an African-American man, was sentenced to serve 198 months in federal prison. The BOP assigned Edison to Taft. He was diagnosed with cocci on October 30, 2010. Edison alleges that he was in good health prior to his assignment to Taft and had not previously been exposed to the disease.
In 2012, Edison filed suit against the United States and its independent contractors, GEO and MTC, in the Eastern District of California. He sought damages for personal injury as a result of contracting cocci while incarcerated at Taft. Edison alleged three claims against the United States under the FTCA. He alleged that the BOP had failed: (1) to warn Edison adequately of the dangers presented by cocci; (2) to provide Edison with a safe and habitable prison when it neglected to implement various preventative measures; and (3) to develop and implement an adequate response to the cocci epidemic.
Nuwintore filed suit against the United States and MTC, also in the Eastern District of California, alleging the same three claims as Edison. Once again, the United States moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the FTCA. The magistrate judge, to whom the matter was referred, agreed with the district court's conclusion in Edison that the independent contractor exception barred jurisdiction. Nuwintore v. United States, No. 1:13-CV-00967-AWI, 2014 WL 1091358, at *9 (E.D.Cal. Mar. 18, 2014). The district court adopted the magistrate judge's findings and recommendation in full and granted the United States' motion to dismiss. Nuwintore v. United States, No. 1:13-CV-00967-AWI, 2014 WL 2174681, at *2 (E.D.Cal. May 23, 2014).
After their claims against the government were dismissed, both Edison and Nuwintore moved for the entry of final judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b).
It is undisputed that the BOP's independent contractors are responsible for the day-to-day operations of Taft. But our precedents do not hold that the United States is absolved of all liability, no matter what the injury complained of or its cause, any time it hires an independent contractor. This case requires us to ascertain the boundaries of the United States' liability when it has delegated some, but not all, of its legal duties to an independent contractor.
We review de novo a dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the FTCA. Vacek v. U.S. Postal Serv., 447 F.3d 1248, 1250 (9th Cir.2006). We review "[t]he district court's findings of fact relevant to its determination of subject matter jurisdiction ... for clear error." Autery v. United States, 424 F.3d 944, 956 (9th Cir.2005) (quoting Ass'n of Am. Med. Colls. v. United States, 217 F.3d 770, 778 (9th Cir.2000)).
An attack on subject matter jurisdiction may be facial or factual. "In a facial attack, the challenger asserts that the allegations contained in a complaint are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction. By contrast, in a factual attack, the challenger disputes the truth of the allegations that, by themselves, would otherwise invoke federal jurisdiction." Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir.2004). Here, the United States mounted a factual attack when it filed declarations and affidavits challenging Plaintiffs' allegations that the government owed them a legal duty. The government argued that it had delegated to private contractors all duties the BOP owed Taft prisoners.
In response to a factual attack, Plaintiffs must present "affidavits or any other evidence necessary to satisfy [their] burden of establishing that the court, in fact, possesses subject matter jurisdiction." Colwell v. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 558 F.3d 1112, 1121 (9th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). The district court may look beyond the pleadings to the parties' evidence without converting the motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment. White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir.2000). In evaluating the evidence, the court "need not presume the truthfulness of the plaintiffs' allegations." Id. Any factual disputes, however, must be resolved in favor of Plaintiffs. Dreier v. United States, 106 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 1996).
The United States is immune from suit unless it consents to be sued. See Dalehite v. United States, 346 U.S. 15, 30, 73 S.Ct. 956, 97 L.Ed. 1427 (1953) (citing Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 139, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152 (1950)). The FTCA is a limited waiver of that sovereign immunity, under which "the United States is liable to the same extent as a private party for certain torts of federal employees ... `in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.'" Autery, 424 F.3d at 956 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1)). The FTCA's limited waiver of sovereign immunity explicitly excludes "any contractor with the United States" from its definition of "[e]mployee of the government," 28 U.S.C. § 2671; this is known as the independent contractor exception to the
The independent contractor exception, however, has no bearing on the United States' FTCA liability for its own acts or omissions. "Many cases recognize that it is not a defense, to liability for one's own negligence in connection with an actor whose conduct injured a third party, that the actor was not an agent or an employee," but rather an independent contractor. Restatement (Third) Of Agency § 7.05 (2006). Even where an employer has delegated some responsibilities to an independent contractor, the employer may still be held separately and directly liable for its own negligence.
Here, the district court denied Plaintiffs' claims because the BOP delegated day-to-day care of Taft prisoners to GEO and MTC: "MTC was responsible for inmate orientation and health, and warned inmates regarding the risks of [cocci]," while the BOP "was not responsible for maintenance, sanitation, health services, health education or inmate orientation." Nuwintore, 2014 WL 1091358, at *9. That is, the BOP did not attempt to supervise or control GEO/MTC in performing the day-to-day tasks of running a prison. Id. Based on the foregoing, the district court concluded that the independent contractor exception prevented it from exercising jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' claims under the FTCA.
There is no question in this case that GEO and MTC were independent contractors — Plaintiffs have conceded as much. Plaintiffs, however, do not seek to hold the United States vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of GEO/MTC. Rather, Plaintiffs seek to hold the United States directly liable for its failure to take action in response to the cocci epidemic, outside the scope of its relationship with GEO/MTC. Plaintiffs rely on a duty of the United States that arose before they arrived at Taft, which could not have been delegated in a practical sense; they point to other duties retained by the United States, which accrued after their arrival, and were
Whether the United States may be held liable under the FTCA for its own acts or omissions is a three-step inquiry. First, we decide whether state law, in this case, California law, would impose a duty of care on a private individual in a similar situation. 28 U.S.C. § 2674; Autery, 424 F.3d at 956. "The extent of the United States' liability under the FTCA is generally determined by reference to state law." Liebsack v. United States, 731 F.3d 850, 855 (9th Cir.2013) (quoting Molzof v. United States, 502 U.S. 301, 305, 112 S.Ct. 711, 116 L.Ed.2d 731 (1992)). Because Taft is located in California, we look to California law to evaluate Plaintiffs' claims. Second, if it would, we then look to the contract and the parties' actions to determine whether the United States retained some portion of that duty for which it could be held directly liable. See Autery, 424 F.3d at 957-59 (examining contractual language and parties' course of dealing to determine whether the duty was delegated); McGarry, 549 F.2d at 588 (describing contractual language and parties' past practices). Finally, even if it appears that the government delegated all of its duties to the independent contractor, we ask whether California law imposed any nondelegable duties on the government. Yanez, 63 F.3d at 874-75 (holding United States had nondelegable duty under California law); McGarry, 549 F.2d at 590 (holding United States had nondelegable duty under Nevada law).
In this case, California law imposes a general duty of care on the United States as a landowner. Section 1714 of the California Civil Code sets forth the basic policy governing landowner liability in California. It states, in relevant part:
Cal. Civ.Code § 1714(a). See also Kinsman v. Unocal Corp., 37 Cal.4th 659, 36 Cal.Rptr.3d 495, 123 P.3d 931, 938-39 (2005) (quoting Rowland v. Christian, 69 Cal.2d 108, 70 Cal.Rptr. 97, 443 P.2d 561, 568 (1968)).
In California, landowners must act reasonably in the management of their property, with an awareness of "the probability of injury to others." Id. The state employs a strong presumption in favor of finding that landowners, and indeed all persons, have a duty to use ordinary care to prevent injury to others: "[I]n the absence of a statutory provision establishing an exception to the general rule of Civil Code § 1714, courts should create one only where `clearly supported by public policy.'" Cabral v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 51 Cal.4th 764, 122 Cal.Rptr.3d 313, 248 P.3d 1170, 1174 (2011) (quoting Rowland, 70 Cal.Rptr. 97, 443 P.2d at 564).
Although GEO and MTC provided some warnings to Plaintiffs in the form of flyers posted around the prison, the BOP itself never issued any warnings to prisoners regarding the risk of contracting cocci at Taft. In California, landowners may be held liable for a failure to warn invitees of hidden dangers where "(1) defendant [landowners] knew or reasonably should have known of a concealed, preexisting hazardous condition on their premises; (2) plaintiff ... did not know and could not reasonably ascertain the condition; and (3) defendants failed to warn plaintiff." Gravelin v. Satterfield, 200 Cal.App.4th 1209, 132 Cal.Rptr.3d 913, 919 (2011) (citing Kinsman, 36 Cal.Rptr.3d 495, 123 P.3d at 940). Because cocci poses a hidden danger that Plaintiffs could not reasonably ascertain on their own, the United States had a duty to warn Plaintiffs of cocci's risks prior to their transfer to Taft.
In the district court, Plaintiffs presented uncontroverted evidence that the BOP knew Taft prisoners had an increased risk of cocci exposure and infection at least as of the late 1990s. Yet until GEO/MTC passed that information on to prisoners, it is highly unlikely that Plaintiffs could have known about the increased likelihood of contracting cocci there, let alone the heightened danger facing African-American, Filipino, and immunocompromised individuals. A fungus that resides in the soil of the San Joaquin Valley, cocci is invisible and scentless; individuals are typically infected by breathing in dust, especially in windy conditions. Cocci is a classic example of a hidden danger, and the United States had a duty to warn Plaintiffs about it.
To prove that the district court had jurisdiction over their claims, Plaintiffs must also show that the United States did not delegate its duty of care. Here, the United States could not have delegated its duty
Once GEO/MTC warned Plaintiffs about cocci, the possibility of infection became a known hazard. Nevertheless, in California, a landowner's duty of care does not end with the requirement to warn individuals of hidden dangers. California relies on Restatement (Second) of Torts § 343A to define the duties of a possessor of land toward invitees, including those who encounter a known danger. According to the Restatement, "[a] possessor of land is not liable to his invitees for physical harm caused to them by any activity or condition on the land whose danger is known or obvious to them, unless the possessor should anticipate the harm despite such knowledge or obviousness." Restatement (Second) of Torts § 343A(1) (1965) (emphasis added). The California Supreme Court has expanded on this principle, explaining that "[t]here may be situations... in which an obvious hazard, for which no warning is necessary, nonetheless gives rise to a duty on a landowner's part to remedy the hazard because knowledge of the hazard is inadequate to prevent injury." Kinsman, 36 Cal.Rptr.3d 495, 123 P.3d at 939. At Taft, even once Plaintiffs had been warned about cocci — and the hazard therefore became an "obvious" or known one — Plaintiffs' knowledge alone may not have been sufficient to prevent infection. As a landowner, the BOP had a duty to protect Taft's prisoners from cocci to the extent that they could not protect themselves.
That the United States had a duty to protect Plaintiffs is further bolstered by California's recognition of a special relationship between jailers and prisoners. The state imposes a heightened duty of care on jailers, due to prisoners' increased vulnerability while incarcerated. Giraldo v. Cal. Dep't of Corrs. & Rehab., 168 Cal.App.4th 231, 85 Cal.Rptr.3d 371, 382-88 (2008); see also Lawson v. Superior Court, 180 Cal.App.4th 1372, 103 Cal.Rptr.3d 834, 849-50 (2010).
As prisoners, Plaintiffs were particularly vulnerable to infection: Even if Plaintiffs had been warned of the disease, they were unable to move to a different location, remodel their living quarters, or erect protective structures, such as covered walkways. Thus, by placing prisoners at Taft, the BOP directly increased Plaintiffs' risk of harm. Under California law, the United States had a duty to protect Plaintiffs from the risk of contracting cocci.
Under the second step of the analysis, we ask whether the United States delegated its duty to protect Plaintiffs from cocci. To be sure, the United States delegated the day-to-day supervision and maintenance of Taft to its contractors. Indeed, once it became clear that Taft was experiencing a cocci epidemic, both GEO and MTC implemented certain responsive measures. In addition to increasing the frequency of maintenance tasks like dusting and changing air filters, GEO/MTC posted flyers warning prisoners that they were at risk of contracting cocci. Nevertheless, the preventative measures taken by the independent contractors were not sufficient to satisfy the BOP's own duty to protect prisoners under California law.
Plaintiffs assert that in addition to day-to-day measures, the United States had a duty to build or modify structures to reduce prisoners' exposure to the cocci-laden dust of the San Joaquin Valley. Specifically, Plaintiffs claim that construction of covered walkways could have protected them from exposure to the dust. And while the BOP delegated most day-to-day activities to GEO/MTC, the BOP expressly reserved at least one right to itself: the right to construct new buildings or modifications of or additions to existing buildings. The United States' contracts with GEO and MTC state that "[n]o modifications or additions to existing buildings, mechanical or utility systems shall occur (other than routine maintenance or replacement of components) without prior approval of the [government]." Further, "[t]he government reserves the right to construct additional buildings on its property and/or expand the capacity of existing buildings. The contractor shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible should the government exercise this right."
Finally, the BOP had a duty, under the larger umbrella of its duty to
Although the United States delegated the general duty to oversee healthcare at Taft to GEO/MTC, its actions make clear that it chose to retain the specific duty to develop a policy for the prevention and treatment of cocci. Plaintiffs presented evidence in the district court that the BOP took upon itself the task of developing a policy in response to the cocci outbreak. The BOP also went a step further, specifically directing that its contractors be excluded from development of this policy. In so doing, the BOP expressed its intent to retain control over this aspect of its duty. See Yanez, 63 F.3d at 875 (finding jurisdiction under FTCA where government failed to exercise retained right to order correction of safety violations). Thus, the independent contractor exception to the FTCA does not bar the district court from exercising jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' third claim.
Plaintiffs have met their burden to show that the independent contractor exception does not bar the district court's subject matter jurisdiction under the FTCA. The government owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs under California law, which generally assumes that landowners have a duty to exercise reasonable care in the ownership and management of property. In this case, the government's duty was underscored by the special relationship that California recognizes between jailer and prisoner.
The BOP's duty to warn prisoners before transferring them to Taft arose out-side of the scope of its contractor relationship with GEO/MTC, and therefore is not barred by the independent contractor exception. Further, the BOP did not delegate all of its duties to GEO/MTC, even once prisoners arrived at Taft. Instead, it retained both the exclusive right to construct new buildings and the exclusive right to make modifications to existing buildings. The BOP also explicitly excluded its contractors from participating in the
In each of these cases, the district court's dismissal of Plaintiffs' complaints under the independent contractor exception to the FTCA is reversed to the extent dismissal is inconsistent with this opinion, and these cases are remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
These exceptions notwithstanding, California has historically held that § 1714 gives rise to a duty of care in a wide range of circumstances. In Kinsman, the California Supreme Court imposed a duty on landowners who hire independent contractors to warn invitees "of a latent or concealed pre-existing hazardous condition on [the] property," which the landowner knew or should have known about. Kinsman, 36 Cal.Rptr.3d 495, 123 P.3d at 933. In Sprecher v. Adamson Co., 30 Cal.3d 358, 178 Cal.Rptr. 783, 636 P.2d 1121 (1981), the court applied Rowland to impose a duty of reasonable care on landowners to protect even individuals injured off-property from natural hazards. Id. 178 Cal.Rptr. 783, 636 P.2d at 1128.