United States Tenth Circuit

In a wrongful termination action, summary judgment for the government on the basis that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Torts Claims Act left the district court without authority to hear plaintiffs' claims is affirmed where: 1) a federal agency's decision to terminate or request the termination of an employee involves an element of choice and is the kind of decision that implicates policy concerns relating to accomplishing the agency's mission; and 2) thus, the suit, however strong it may be on the merits, was barred by the discretionary function exception to the FTCA.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/22/2008
• Published 04/23/2008

Judges

• GORSUCH, Circuit Judge., Before BRISCOE and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges, and PARKER, District Judge.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Timothy M. Kratz, Pendleton, Friedberg, Wilson, & Hennessey, P.C., Denver, CO, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Paul Farley, Assistant United States Attorney (Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellee.