Murray v. Northrop Grumman Information Technology

• Citation: 444 F.3d 169
• Decision Date: 10 April 2006
• Docket Number: Docket No. 04-5097-CV.
• Parties: James MURRAY and Ruth Gould, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)

444 F.3d 169

James MURRAY and Ruth Gould, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

Docket No. 04-5097-CV.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued November 1, 2005.

Decided April 10, 2006.

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Eamonn Dornan, Smith Dornan & Dehn P.C., New York, New York, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Ruth E. Harlow, White & Case LLP (Peter C. Trimarchi, on the brief), New York, New York, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: WALKER, Chief Judge, FEINBERG and CARDAMONE, Circuit Judges.

WALKER, Chief Judge.

James Murray and Ruth Gould, the Appellants, came to the United States on nonimmigrant visas under the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program ("IPPCTP"), a program established by Congress. When their relationship with their American employer soured, the employer told Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc. ("NGIT"), the Program Administrator of the IPPCTP, that Murray and Gould had never actually worked for him and that they were threats to national security. Based on these allegations, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS")¹ detained Murray and Gould, and NGIT terminated them from the program. The INS initiated deportation proceedings based principally on NGIT's transmittal of the employer's accusations to the government. Appellants sued NGIT, upon a claim of injuries as a result of NGIT's alleged negligence, negligent misrepresentation, defamation, and breach of contract. The District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Allyne E. Ross, Judge) granted summary judgment to NGIT. This appeal followed.

BACKGROUND

In 1998, Congress enacted the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998, Pub.L. No. 105-319, 112 Stat. 3013 amending the Immigration and Nationality Act "to allow young people from disadvantaged areas of [Ireland] suffering from sectarian violence and high structural unemployment to enter the United States for the purpose of developing job skills and conflict resolution abilities in a diverse, cooperative, peaceful, and prosperous environment, so that those young people can return to their homes better able to contribute toward economic regeneration and the Irish peace process." Id. § 2(a)(1), 112 Stat. at 3013. To achieve this end, the program allots up to 4,000 nonimmigrant "Q-2" visas per year, id. § 2(a)(2), 112 Stat. at 3013, which allow their holders to work in the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(Q)(ii).

The Department of State ("DOS") and the INS, who are responsible for general oversight and enforcement of the IPPCTP provisions, 22 C.F.R. § 139.1(b), issued regulations for the administration of the program in March of 2000. Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Interim Rule, 65 Fed.Reg. 14,764, 17,768 (Mar. 17, 2000) (codified at 22 C.F.R. pt. 139). The regulations delegate responsibility for day-to-day operation of the program to a Program Administrator ("PA"). 22 C.F.R. § 139.1(b). The day-to-day responsibilities of the PA include, inter alia, identifying job opportunities for program participants, recommending employers for participation in the program to the DOS, which has final authority for approving employers, id., and issuing letters of certification to aliens approved for the program. Id. § 139.4. NGIT was selected as the PA.

Under the IPPCTP regulations, the PA is responsible for monitoring participants' compliance with program requirements. Id. § 139.4(e). The PA is required to terminate from the program any participant who is fired for cause, fails to find approved employment within thirty days of leaving prior, approved employment, fails to comply with program regulations, or engages in unauthorized employment. Id. § 139.4(i). The PA is obligated to report to the DOS and INS on certain aspects of the program, including informing the DOS and INS "promptly (normally within five business days)" of the termination or withdrawal from the program of a participant. Id. § 139.4(g).

After they were approved to participate in the IPPCTP, Murray and Gould began working in August 2001 at Kitty Hawk Kites in Nags Head, North Carolina. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and business at Kitty Hawk Kites slowed, Murray and Gould told NGIT that they wanted to transfer to Las Vegas Airports ("LVA"), a hang-gliding school in Las Vegas, Nevada owned by Steve Smith. NGIT corresponded with Smith to verify that LVA qualified for the program, and recommended it for approval to the DOS. The DOS then approved LVA as an IPPCTP employer.

Appellants moved to Las Vegas and began work at LVA in October of 2001. Their complaint alleges that in early December of 2001, they began to have concerns about Smith's conduct. He did not pay them and told them that business was too slow; he said that they would be paid when they brought in new clients. He also demanded that they clean his home and his car, tasks unrelated to their agreed-upon responsibilities. His hang-gliding training methods exposed Appellants to unnecessary hazards, and he boasted about his experiences with drugs and prostitutes. As this behavior continued, the complaint alleges, Appellants' relationship with Smith deteriorated by January 10, 2002, to the point that Smith refused to provide Appellants with work and did not respond to their attempts to contact him. Appellants nonetheless continued to advertise Smith's business in the hopes of securing new clients and getting paid.

On January 30, 2002, Appellants informed NGIT of their concerns about Smith. On February 13, 2002, Appellants again complained to NGIT about Smith's behavior, said that he had violated his obligations under the IPPCTP, and requested a transfer to a third employer.

Later that same day, Smith called NGIT and alleged that neither Murray nor Gould had ever worked for him, that both of them were working for many different employers, and that Murray was getting his pilot's license. NGIT asked Smith to put these claims in writing, and the following day he sent a fax stating that he had not seen either Murray or Gould for four months, that they had never worked for him, that they were both working for others in the Las Vegas area, and that Murray was getting his pilot's license in order to open a business in Yemen. He also stated that "[t]heir views are opposing United States policy" and that they had said that "terrorism in this country can not [sic] be beat and so long as the USA supports Israel it will only get worse." Smith urged NGIT to forward this information to the INS and the FBI and concluded that "[c]onsidering our nations [sic] state of security of foreign terrorism [sic,] this is of grave concern."

NGIT notified the DOS and INS of Smith's accusations. At the request of the DOS and INS, NGIT sent all of its documentation regarding Appellants to those agencies, along with a cover letter that characterized Smith's statements as allegations and noted that, based on NGIT's records, there was no reason to believe that Murray and Gould had not been working at LVA. Within a few days, the INS took Appellants into custody. After Appellants told the INS that they were no longer in Smith's employ, the INS determined that Appellants were out of status with the IPPCTP, because more than thirty days had passed since the end of their approved employment, and initiated removal proceedings against them. On April 16, 2002, NGIT formally informed Appellants that they were out of status and had been terminated from the program based on the fact that they had not worked for Smith since December of 2001. At an immigration hearing on May 28, 2002, Appellants were ordered removed.

Murray and Gould brought this suit against NGIT for negligent misrepresentation, defamation, negligence, and breach of contract, claiming psychological injuries, loss of working privileges, and legal expenses as a result of their arrest, incarceration, and deportation. The negligence claim asserts that NGIT breached five duties allegedly owed to Appellants: (1) to investigate Smith's allegations before conveying them to the DOS or INS; (2) to reinstate Appellants in the IPPCTP after discovering that Smith's allegations were false; (3) to facilitate a second change of employer; (4) to mediate Appellants' employment dispute with Smith; and (5) to investigate the bona fides of Smith's business. NGIT moved for summary judgment and the district court granted the motion. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment. Pannonia Farms, Inc. v. USA Cable, 426 F.3d 650, 652 (2d Cir.2005) (per curiam). Construing all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, id., summary judgment is appropriate where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c).

I. Official Immunity

Appellants' claims are largely based on NGIT's transmittal to the DOS and INS of Smith's allegations that Murray and Gould posed a possible terrorist threat. NGIT asserts as a defense that this transmittal is protected by official immunity. We agree.

The doctrine of official immunity is designed to promote the effective administration of government affairs by ensuring that government officials are "free to exercise their duties unembarrassed by the fear of damage suits." Barr v. Matteo, 360 U.S. 564, 571, 79 S.Ct. 1335, 3 L.Ed.2d 1434 (1959) (plurality opinion). As the Supreme Court has made clear, official immunity is not meant "to protect an erring official, but to insulate the decision-making process from the harassment of prospective litigation." Westfall v. Erwin, 484 U.S. 292, 295, 108 S.Ct. 580, 98 L.Ed.2d 619 (1988). The doctrine rests on the premise that the threat of damage suits might "appreciably inhibit the fearless, vigorous, and effective administration of policies of government." Barr, 360 U.S. at 571, 79 S.Ct....