Opinion ID: 381865
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Attorney General of the United States and the United States

Text: 17 Appellant has conceded, on appeal, that no cause of action was stated against the Attorney General as to any of the claims. Therefore, the district court's dismissal of the complaint against the Attorney General is affirmed. 18 As to the United States, appellant, on appeal, has conceded that no cause of action was alleged except for the claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). 19 The district court dismissed the FTCA claims because on the face of the complaint, it appeared that the appellant had failed to present the claim to a federal agency as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2675. The district court did not consider whether causes of action were stated under the FTCA. 20 The timely filing of an administrative claim is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the bringing of a suit under the FTCA, Caton v. United States, 495 F.2d 635 (9th Cir.1974), and, as such, should be affirmatively alleged in the complaint. A district court may dismiss a complaint for failure to allege this jurisdictional prerequisite. Martin v. United States, 436 F.Supp. 535 (S.D.Cal.1977). However, the pleader should be given an opportunity to file an amended complaint to attempt to cure such pleading defects. See, Id., 436 F.Supp. at 538. 21 In the present case, appellant failed to allege that he had timely filed an administrative claim; thus the district court's dismissal of the claim was appropriate. However, in dismissing the claim, the court also entered judgment which precluded the appellant from possibly curing the defect in the pleading. We, therefore, remand as to the FTCA claims to allow appellant to file an amended complaint. If the district court finds the jurisdictional defects to have been cured, the court should then determine whether causes of action were stated under the FTCA.