Bush v. Gonzalez

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: May 5, 2011
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2011-0839
• Status: Published

Opinion

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FILED FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAY - 5 2011 Clark, U.S. Diskict & Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia Barbara M. Bush, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 11 J~:JR ) Headquarters for U.S. Attorney General ) Gonzalez et aI., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on its review of the plaintiff s pro se complaint and

application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted and the complaint will

be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) (requiring

dismissal of an action "at any time" the Court determines that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction).

The plaintiff is a resident of Hyattsville, Maryland, suing the United States for allegedly

detaining her without due process of law. See Complaint at 2. Although the complaint lacks

clarity and cohesion, the plaintiff seems to allege that while confined at a federal prison for a

mental competency evaluation, she was interrogated and tortured. She seeks $50,000 in damages

"for the imprisonment and torture." !d. at 7.

A claim for monetary damages against the United States is cognizable under the Federal

Tort Claims Act ("FTC A"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671 et seq. Such a claim is maintainable, however,

only after the plaintiff has exhausted administrative remedies by "first present[ing] the claim to

the appropriate Federal agency .... " 28 U.S.C. § 2675. This exhaustion requirement is

jurisdictional. See GAFCorp. v. United States, 818 F.2d 901,917-20 (D.C. Cir. 1987); Jackson

v. United States, 730 F.2d 808, 809 (D.C. Cir. 1984); Stokes v. us. Postal Service, 937 F. Supp. 11, 14 (D.D.C. 1996). The plaintiff has not indicated that she exhausted her administrative

remedies under the FTCA. Therefore, the complaint will be dismissed. See Abdurrahman v.

Engstrom, 168 Fed.Appx. 445,445 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (per curiam) ("[T]he district court properly

dismissed case [based on unexhausted FTCA claim] for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.").)

~/),ib~ nit States DIstnct Judge Date: April 31L, 2011

) A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.