Rattler v. United States ( 2010 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FILED
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JAN 1 9 2010
Clerk, U.S. District and
)
Bankruptcy Courts
Clyde Lacy Rattler,
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 10 0087
)
United States of America, )
)
Defendant. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiff s pro se complaint and
application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted and the complaint
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).
Plaintiff is a District of Columbia resident suing the United States for negligence. He
seeks "an unlimited sum of money." Compl. at 2. A claim for monetary damages against the
United States is cognizable under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671 et
seq. Such a claim is maintainable, however, only after the plaintiff has exhausted his
administrative remedies by "first present[ing] the claim to the appropriate Federal agency .... "
28 U.S.C. § 2675. This exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional. See OAF Corp. 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). Plaintiff has not
indicated that he exhausted his administrative remedies. 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
IV 'i
lack of subject matter jurisdiction."). A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum
Opinion.
Date: January
. -tL.
13 ,2010
United States Dist let Jud;e ~
2