Samuel Ashley, Jr. v. United States

Case: 16-11597 Document: 00513933866 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/30/2017 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals No. 16-11597 Fifth Circuit FILED Summary Calendar March 30, 2017 Lyle W. Cayce SAMUEL ALVIN ASHLEY, JR., Clerk Plaintiff-Appellant v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant-Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:14-CV-2654 Before JONES, WIENER, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant Samuel Alvin Ashley, Jr. sued the United States of America (the “government”) under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) for injuries allegedly resulting from the actions or inactions of non-professional personnel occurring while he was a prisoner in the Federal Correctional Institution at Seagoville, Texas. His complaint boils down to an assertion under the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution for cruel and * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 16-11597 Document: 00513933866 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/30/2017 No. 16-11597 unusual punishment, a late classification of his action which started as a Texas personal injury claim. In its lengthy and detailed analysis of the jurisdictional implication of Ashley’s action, the district court concluded that the government correctly relied on the discretionary-function exception to the FTCA, refutation of which was Ashley’s burden to bear. For essentially the same reasons given by the district court, we affirm its grant of the government’s motion to dismiss without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. AFFIRMED. 2