Villafranca v. United States

KING, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Enrique Villafranca appeals the district court’s judgment, following a bench trial, that he take nothing on his assault and negligence claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The district court determined that the federal agents did not commit an assault against Villafranca because they used reasonable force to effect a lawful arrest. The district court also found that the agents’ alleged negligence was not the proximate cause of Villafranca’s injuries, and thus he did not have a viable claim for negligence. Because we hold…