Nhia Vang v. Steven Decker

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiffs-Appellants (“Plaintiffs”) are three Hmong married couples. The men (“Vang Plaintiffs”) were charged with violating the Neutrality Act and other offenses in connection with an alleged conspiracy to illegally procure and transfer military grade weapons to support a coup in Laos. Plaintiffs allege (1) civil rights violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ; (2) constitutional claims pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 , 91 S.Ct. 1999 , 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971); (3) common law claims pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346 (b), 2671-80; and (4) claims for declaratory and injunctive relief as a result of damages suffered during the government’s prosecution of the Vang Plaintiffs in United States v. Harrison Jack, et al., 2:07-cr-00266-KJM (E.D.Cal.). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

Our focus here is Plaintiffs’ malicious prosecution claims. We review de novo the dismissal of these claims under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Dougherty v. City of Covina, 654 F.3d 892, 897 (9th Cir.2011). “To prove a [FTCA] claim of malicious prose-, cution…