Jeffrey A. Saul v. Ray Larsen Jane Doe Larsen Colleen St. Louis John Doe St. Louis

This case involves federal employees’ immunity to state and constitutional tort claims based on acts taken in their official capacities. The district court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, concluding that they were absolutely immune. We affirmed that decision in an unpublished Memorandum filed January 13, 1988, 837 F.2d 482 .

On January 12 and 13 the Supreme Court decided two cases that affect our analysis of the defendants’ immunity: Forrester v. White, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 538 , 98 L.Ed.2d 555 (1988) and Westfall v. Erwin, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 580 , 98 L.Ed.2d 619 (1988). In light of those decisions, we grant Saul’s petition for rehearing, vacate our unpublished Memorandum filed previously, and remand to the district court.

BACKGROUND

Saul worked as a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and volunteered as a union representative. Larsen was an SSA “Area Director.” His responsibilities included hearing grievances under the collective bargaining agreement and maintaining relations with outside organizations and institutions. St. Louis was an SSA “Operations Supervisor.” It was her responsibility to monitor the performance of SSA…