071157.U

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-1157
S & K TRADING & CONSULTING, INCORPORATED,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore. Andre M. Davis, District Judge.
(1:06-cv-01316-AMD)
Submitted: July 31, 2007 Decided: November 21, 2007
Before MICHAEL, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas S. Hood, HOOD & SCHOLNICK, P.A., Towson, Maryland, for
Appellant. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Neil R.
White, Assistant United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for
Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
S & K Trading & Consulting, Inc. (“S & K”) appeals the
district court’s order granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss its
claim brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C.
§§ 2671-2680 (2000) (“FTCA”). We have reviewed the record and find
no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated
by the district court. See S & K Trading & Consulting, Inc. v.
United States, No. 1:06-cv-01316-AMD (D. Md. Feb. 6, 2007). Even
if S & K’s claim was not barred by the FTCA’s misrepresentation
exception, its claim would nonetheless fail since S & K is unable
to establish that Defendants owed to it an actionable duty under
the FTCA. See 28 U.S.C. § 2674 (2000) (providing that the
Government shall be liable “in the same manner and to the same
extent as a private individual under like circumstances”); see also
United States v. Smith, 395 F.3d 516, 519 (4th Cir. 2005) (holding
that this court “may affirm on any grounds apparent from the
record”). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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