Transportation Security Administration screeners inspect passengers’ bags at the international terminal of San Francisco International Airport. Photo credit: Getty Images
Transportation Security Administration screeners are not investigative or law enforcement officers under the Tort Claims Act and thus claims related to their conduct are barred by sovereign immunity, the Third Circuit has ruled in a precedential opinion.
In the July 11 decision in Pellegrino v. TSA, the court noted that the screeners’ status was a question of first impression. The court affirmed a U.S. district court ruling in favor of the TSA, which dismissed pro se appellant Nadine Pellegrino’s claims over a security search gone awry at the Philadelphia International Airport.
