Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-03219/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-03219-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 362
Nature of Suit: Medical Malpractice
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Personal Injury

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

San Francisco Division

NICK O’ROURKE,

Plaintiff,

v.

PETALUMA HEALTH CENTER, INC., et 

al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 3:15-cv-03215-LB 

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

[Re: ECF No. 11]

NICK O’ROURKE,

Plaintiff,

v.

ANNIE NICOL, RN, FNP, PA,

Defendant.

Case No. 3:15-cv-03219-LB 

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

[Re: ECF No. 6]

These cases both involve the plaintiff Nick O’Rourke’s challenges to medical care that he 

received at Petaluma Health Center in 2014. (See Complaints, both at ECF No. 1.1) Mr. O’Rourke 

filed claims in small claims court, naming Petaluma Health Center and three employees in one 

case and naming one employee in the second case. (See id.) The United States removed both cases 

 

1 Citations are to the Electronic Case File (“ECF”); pin cites are to the ECF-generated page 

numbers at the tops of documents. The court refers to case 3:15-cv-03215-LB as “O’Rourke 1” 

and case 3:15-cv-03219-LB as “O’Rourke 2.”

Case 3:15-cv-03219-VC Document 18 Filed 08/18/15 Page 1 of 4
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to federal court and moved to (1) substitute in as the sole defendant on the ground that Petaluma 

Health Center and its employees are deemed federal employees for the medical care that they 

provide at the center and (2) dismiss the cases without prejudice for lack of subject-matter 

jurisdiction because Mr. O’Rourke has not exhausted his administrative remedies under the 

Federal Torts Claims Act (“FTCA”). (See O’Rourke 1 Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 11; O’Rourke 

2 Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 6.) The motions are set for hearing on August 20, 2015. Mr. 

O’Rourke has not filed any opposition or statement of non-opposition to the United States’s 

motions, and he has not responded to several clerk’s notices asking him to consent or decline the 

undersigned’s jurisdiction. Under the circumstances, the court resets the motion hearing to August 

27, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. and orders Mr. O’Rourke to show cause why his cases should not be 

dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. 

For Mr. O’Rourke’s edification, the court provides the following additional context. The 

United States filed certifications that the defendants are federal employees. (See O’Rourke 1 

Torres Decl., ECF No. 12; O’Rourke 2 Torres Decl., ECF No. 7.) For the medical claims at issue, 

the FTCA is the exclusive remedy for torts against federal employees acting in the scope of their 

employment. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b)(1), 2679(b)(1). Before filing suit, a plaintiff must present 

his or her administrative claim to the appropriate agency within two years of the incident, see 28 

U.S.C. § 2401(b), and the agency must either “finally den[y]” his or her claim or fail to arrive at a 

“final disposition of [his or her] claim within six months after it is filed,” see 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). 

“The claim requirement of section 2675 is jurisdictional in nature and may not be waived.” Burns 

v. United States, 764 F.2d 722, 723 (9th Cir. 1985). If a plaintiff does not present his claims to the 

agency, the district court cannot assert subject-matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s FTCA claim. 

See 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a); McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106, 111-12 (1993); Burns, 764 F.2d 

at 723. 

Here, the United States asserts that Mr. O’Rourke did not file administrative claims with the 

Department of Health and Human Services. (See O’Rourke 1 Torres Decl., ECF No. 12; O’Rourke 

2 Torres Decl., ECF No. 7.) If he has not, then the court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction to 

consider the claims. He must do so before the court can consider his claims. 

Case 3:15-cv-03219-VC Document 18 Filed 08/18/15 Page 2 of 4
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Under the circumstances, the court directs Mr. O’Rourke to appear at 450 Golden Gate 

Avenue, 15th Floor, Courtroom C, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California on 

Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. to show cause why his cases should not be dismissed 

without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Alternatively, Mr. O’Rourke may 

submit a statement of non-opposition. The court also reminds Mr. O’Rourke to submit his consent 

or declination to the undersigned’s jurisdiction.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 18, 2015

______________________________________

LAUREL BEELER

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:15-cv-03219-VC Document 18 Filed 08/18/15 Page 3 of 4
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

NICK O'ROURKE,

Plaintiff,

v.

PETALUMA HEALTH CENTER, INC., et 

al.,

and

ANIIE NICOL, RN, FNP, PA, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 3:15-cv-03215-LB and 

 3:15-cv-03219-LB

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. 

District Court, Northern District of California.

That on August 18, 2015, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by 

placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by 

depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery 

receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

Nick O'Rourke

2117 St. Augustine Circle

Petaluma, CA 94954 

Dated: August 18, 2015

Richard W. Wieking

Clerk, United States District Court

By:________________________

Lashanda Scott, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable LAUREL BEELER

Case 3:15-cv-03219-VC Document 18 Filed 08/18/15 Page 4 of 4