Opinion ID: 184981
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Adequacy of Mr. Richardson's Amended Complaint

Text: 20 As noted above, the District Court's opinion can be read as accepting Mr. Richardson's reply to the defendant's motion to dismiss as a de facto amendment to his original complaint, but then dismissing the case because it found that Mr. Richardson made no factual allegation to support his claim except that the serum was defective for being double the recommended dose. See Mem. Op. at 4, reprinted in App. 61.Even on this reading, however, we find that the District Court erred. 21 Mr. Richardson's amended complaint clearly stated a claim sufficient to meet the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure's liberal pleading requirements. Indeed, at oral argument, the Government's counsel was hard-pressed to contend otherwise.To survive a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a plaintiff is not required to plead facts sufficient to prove his allegations; rather, a court should only dismiss a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.Caribbean Broad. Sys., Ltd. v. Cable & Wireless PLC, 148 F.3d 1080, 1086 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Here, there is no indication that Mr. Richardson can prove no set of facts entitling him to relief.In fact, the forms appended to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure clearly indicate that Mr. Richardson's complaint meets liberal pleading requirements. See Fed. R. Civ. P. app. Form 2(c) (demonstrating requirements for statement of jurisdiction founded upon a particular statute); id. Form 9 (demonstrating requirements for a complaint for negligence). 22 Moreover, as amicus points out, the complaint in Anyanwutaku was hardly less conclusory than the claim here. See Reply Br. of Amicus Curiae at 13. In Anyanwutaku, the claims found by the court to withstand dismissal alleged that the plaintiff was arbitrarily and capriciously denied access to the said [prison] programs through invidious discrimination and that the defendants invidiously discriminated against the plaintiff based on race or ethnic origin. Anyanwutaku, 151 F.3d at 1058 (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). These claims allege no more facts than does Mr. Richardson's claim that he was injured by his exposure to a defectively produced vaccine. See Resp. to Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss at 3-4, reprinted in App. 39-40. 23 We note, furthermore, that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA does not bar Swine Flu Act claims based on the acts or omissions of the vaccine's provider. See 42 U.S.C. § 247b(k)(2)(A)(ii) (1976) (revised and deleted 1978) (making the exceptions in 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a) inapplicable to actions based upon a program participant's act or omission).In addition, this circuit has held by implication that claims against the Government that rely on products liability assertions against vaccine providers are permitted by the Swine Flu Act. See Hunt, 636 F.2d at 596 n.44, 599 (stating that the Feres doctrine does not bar claims that would render a vaccine manufacturer liable under local law on a theory of strict products liability). Therefore, the District Court's basis for dismissing Mr. Richardson's original complaint based on the United States military's negligence does not apply to his amended claim based upon the vaccine manufacturer's defective production of the vaccine. 24 We need not consider the propriety of the District Court's denial of Mr. Richardson's post-dismissal motion for leave to amend his complaint. Such a motion is typically only granted where the litigant has first moved to amend or alter the judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) or 60(b). Mr. Richardson did not explicitly invoke either of these rules. Because we reverse the District Court's decision on other grounds, it is not necessary to address Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b).