Ghazala Siddiqui, et vir, Individually and as Personal Representatives of the Estate of Raheel Siddiqui, Deceased v. United States

In Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950) this Court held that service members were barred from bringing tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act where the injury or death arose out of or in the course of activities incident to service. Further, in its progeny of cases, the Feres analysis adopted the military nexus and discipline rationale as the most critical consideration in determining whether Feres bars a claim. This Court has never considered whether the Feres Doctrine can be expanded to bar claims brought by civilians absent a military relationship. The questions presented are:

1. Does the Feres doctrine bar civilians and the estates of military recruits from bringing tort claims under the Federal Torts Claims Act for wrongful acts committed against them at a time before enlistment and where no military nexus or relationship was formed?

2. Should Feres be overruled for tort claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act where the negligence against the civilians and military recruit began before the civilian enlisted, and where religious discrimination and targeted abuse resulting in a military recruit’s death was directly related to the pre-enlistment negligence?