Carter v. McHugh

869 F. Supp. 2d 784, 2012 WL 1424229, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57132
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedApril 23, 2012
DocketNo. EP-11-CV-456-KC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 869 F. Supp. 2d 784 (Carter v. McHugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. McHugh, 869 F. Supp. 2d 784, 2012 WL 1424229, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57132 (W.D. Tex. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

KATHLEEN CARDONE, District Judge.

On this day, the Court considered “Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss” (“Motion”), ECF No. 6. For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion.

1. BACKGROUND

In this case, Plaintiff brings a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346. See Pl.’s Original Complaint (“Complaint”) 3; Mot. 2. Plaintiff alleges that on July 26, 2009, she slipped and fell on “water that was negligently left on the floor” of the Army’s Fort Bliss Commissary. See Compl. 2. According to Plaintiff, she suffered bodily injuries, pain and suffering, and mental pain and anguish due to the fall. Compl. 3-4.

On September 1, 2009, Plaintiff filed an administrative claim with the Army. PL’s Resp. to Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss (“Response”) ¶ 2, ECF No. 7. On March 8, 2011, Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Mathers wrote an offer letter to Plaintiffs attorney [786]*786(“Offer Letter”). Mot. Ex. 2, ECF No. 6-2. In the Offer Letter, Mathers made a “final offer to settle ... [for] $5,000.” Mot. Ex. 2. Additionally, Mathers explained that “[i]f your client does not accept this offer within thirty (30) days ..., the offer is withdrawn.” Mot. Ex. 2. Finally, Mathers warned about the statute of limitations: “If the offer is not acceptable, you may file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court no later than six months from the date of mailing of this notice. By law, failure to comply with this time limit forever bars your client from further suit.” Mot. Ex. 2.

Plaintiff received the Offer Letter on March 11, 2011. See Resp. ¶¶ 2-3. Plaintiff then filed her Complaint in this Court on November 9, 2011, nearly eight months after Mather’s sent the Offer Letter. Resp. ¶ 3. Plaintiffs attorney explains that he failed to file the Complaint earlier “because of staff miscommunication.” Resp. ¶ 3. Plaintiffs attorney “believed the claim had been filed on an earlier date but discovered later that it had not been filed.” Resp. ¶ 3.

II. DISCUSSION

In his Motion, Defendant argues that the Court should dismiss Plaintiffs lawsuit under the FTCA for failure to timely file this lawsuit in accordance with the statute of limitations. Mot. 2. The FTCA waives the United State’s sovereign immunity and allows a plaintiff to sue the federal government for certain torts committed by government officials acting within the scope of their employment. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1); Smith v. United States, 507 U.S. 197, 201, 113 S.Ct. 1178, 122 L.Ed.2d 548 (1993). Before filing an FTCA claim in federal court, the claimant must first present her claim to the administrative agency allegedly responsible for the wrongful act. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). If the agency fails to resolve the claim or denies the claim, the claimant can then sue in federal court. Id.; In re FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Prods. Liab. Litig., 646 F.3d 185, 189 (5th Cir.2011) (per curiam).

In addition to this process, the claimant must abide by the statute of limitations. 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b); In re FEMA, 646 F.3d at 189. Title 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b) requires:

A tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.

28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).

Although phrased in the disjunctive, § 2401(b) requires the claimant to both file the administrative claim within two years and to file the lawsuit in court within six months of the denial. See In re FEMA, 646 F.3d at 189 (citing Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 162 (5th Cir.2001)).

In this case, both parties agree Plaintiff filed her Complaint more than six months after the Army had denied her claim. See Mot. 1-2; Resp. ¶¶ 2-3. However, Plaintiff argues dismissal is inappropriate because she is entitled to equitable tolling, or alternatively that the final notice was defective. Resp. ¶4. The Court examines each of Plaintiffs arguments in turn.

A. Equitable Tolling

Plaintiff argues that the Court should equitably toll the statute of limitations because Defendant failed to notify Plaintiff of her right to request that the Army reconsider its final offer. Mot. ¶ 2. Defendant replies that equitable tolling is not available under the FTCA because the statute of limitations is jurisdictional. Def.’s Reply to Pl.’s Resp. to Mot. to Dismiss (“Re[787]*787ply”) 2, ECF No. 8. In the alternative, Defendant argues that even if equitable tolling is available, this case does not warrant equitable tolling. Reply 2-4.

Whether a court can equitably toll the § 2401(b) statute of limitations has confounded courts and litigants for decades.1 See Santos ex rel. Beato v. United States, 559 F.3d 189, 194-97 (3d Cir.2009) (holding equitable tolling is available under the FTCA); Marley v. United States, 567 F.3d 1030, 1034-38 (9th Cir.2009) (holding equitable tolling is unavailable); Perez v. United States, 167 F.3d 913, 915-17 (5th Cir.1999) (holding equitable tolling is available); Houston v. U.S. Postal Serv., 823 F.2d 896, 902 (5th Cir.1987) (holding equitable tolling is not available). The Supreme Court of the United States has never decided the issue.2 And although the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has addressed the issue several times, the law is still unsettled. Compare In re FEMA, 646 F.3d at 189 with Perez, 167 F.3d at 915-17.

Before 1990, the Fifth Circuit consistently held that courts could not equitably toll the § 2401(b) statute of limitations. See Perez, 167 F.3d at 915-16 (examining the Fifth Circuit precedent). The general view was “that equitable tolling was never available against the government.” Id. at 915-16. The rationale was that the statute of limitations was a condition upon which the United States waived its sovereign immunity. See Houston, 823 F.2d at 902; Gregory C. Sisk, The Continuing Drift of Federal Sovereign Immunity Jurisprudence, 50 Wm. & Mary L.Rev. 517, 544-55 (2008). In other words, Congress did not waive its sovereign immunity to stale claims, and thus the courts had no jurisdiction over stale claims asserted against the government. See Houston, 823 F.2d at 902.

But the legal landscape shifted in 1990 when the Supreme Court in Irwin v.

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869 F. Supp. 2d 784, 2012 WL 1424229, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-mchugh-txwd-2012.