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 2020-08

Cheryl Vance v. LABR ( 2020 )


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  • Case: 19-11359        Document: 00515511615             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/31/2020
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit                                United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
July 31, 2020
No. 19-11359                         Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar                            Clerk
CHERYL E. VANCE,
Plaintiff — Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; UNITED STATES
POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE,
Defendants — Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 3:19-CV-1183
Before KING, SMITH, and OLDHAM, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Cheryl E. Vance appeals the dismissal of her tort claims against the
U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Vance, a
pro se litigant, raises various state tort claims, such as defamation and libel,
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should
not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in
5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 19-11359      Document: 00515511615           Page: 2     Date Filed: 07/31/2020
No. 19-11359
primarily alleging that Postal Inspector Jeff Krafels made false allegations
against her and therefore caused her to be wrongfully convicted and
incarcerated. Because Vance’s claims are barred by sovereign immunity, we
AFFIRM the judgment below.
“If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter
jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.” Int’l Energy Ventures Mgmt.,
L.L.C. v. United Energy Grp., Ltd.,
    818 F.3d 193
    , 210 n.67 (5th Cir. 2016)
(quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3)). “Sovereign immunity is jurisdictional,”
Cozzo v. Tangipahoa Par. Council—President Gov’t,
    279 F.3d 273
    , 280 (5th
Cir. 2002), and “[t]he basic rule of federal sovereign immunity is that the
United States cannot be sued at all without the consent of Congress,”
Freeman v. United States,
    556 F.3d 326
    , 334 (5th Cir. 2009). Moreover,
“[b]ecause sovereign immunity is jurisdictional in nature, ‘Congress’s
waiver of [sovereign immunity] must be unequivocally expressed in statutory
text and will not be implied.’”
    Id. at 335 
    (alterations in original) (quoting Lane
v. Pena,
    518 U.S. 187
    , 192 (1996)).
Although the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) “waives sovereign
immunity and permits suits against the United States,”
    id., it does so 
    only for
certain tort claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 2674. For example, “[t]o sue successfully
under the FTCA, a plaintiff must name the United States as the sole
defendant.” Baker v. McHugh, 672 F. App’x 357, 362 n.2 (5th Cir. 2016)
(quoting McGuire v. Turnbo,
    137 F.3d 321
    , 324 (5th Cir. 1998)); accord Galvin
v. Occupational Safety & Health Admin.,
    860 F.2d 181
    , 183 (5th Cir. 1988).
In the present case, Vance did not include the United States as a
defendant but instead sued the Department of Labor and the Postal
Inspection Service. In other words, Vance failed to “name the United States
as the sole defendant,”
    McGuire, 137 F.3d at 324
    , and the Department of
Labor and the Postal Inspection Service cannot be sued under the FTCA.
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Case: 19-11359     Document: 00515511615        Page: 3   Date Filed: 07/31/2020
No. 19-11359
Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction over Vance’s tort claims and we therefore
AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
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