Walls v. United States of America

Filing 12

ORDER granting Defendant's 6 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge John H. Chun.(SB)

Case 2:21-cv-01543-JHC Document 12 Filed 05/09/22 Page 1 of 6

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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DEBORAH WALLS,
Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. 2:21-cv-01543-JHC
ORDER RE: MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.

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I.

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INTRODUCTION

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This matter comes before the Court on Defendant United States of America’s motion for

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summary judgment. Dkt. # 6. Plaintiff Deborah Walls opposes the motion. Dkt. # 10. The

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Court has considered the materials filed in support of, and in opposition to, the motion, and the

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file herein. Being fully advised, the Court GRANTS the motion.

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II.

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BACKGROUND

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Deborah Walls alleges she suffered injuries when a vehicle driven by David Leckelt, a
United States Postal Service (USPS) employee, collided with her vehicle in June 2019.

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Case 2:21-cv-01543-JHC Document 12 Filed 05/09/22 Page 2 of 6

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Complaint (Dkt. # 1-1). Walls filed an administrative claim with the USPS in July 2019 for

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damages arising from the accident. Declaration of Stanford Bjurstrom (Bjurstrom Decl.) (Dkt. #

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7) ¶ 5. From August 2019 to August 2020, the USPS repeatedly wrote letters to Walls’s counsel

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requesting her medical records and bills in order to decide her claim. Bjurstrom Decl., ¶¶ 6–9,

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Ex. B, C, D, E. In an August 2020 letter, USPS stated that if it did not receive such

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documentation within a month, it would deny her claim. Bjurstrom Decl., Ex. E. On October 6,

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2020, the USPS denied Walls’s claim, stating that the denial was due to the “failure to submit

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competent evidence of injury as is required” despite its repeated letters. Bjurstrom Decl., ¶ 10,

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Ex. F. The denial letter informed Walls that she had six months from the date of the letter’s

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mailing to file a claim in a federal district court or file a written request for reconsideration.

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Bjurstrom Decl., ¶ 11, Ex. F. It was confirmed that the denial letter was delivered to Walls’s

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counsel on October 9. Bjurstrom Decl., ¶ 12, Ex. G. The USPS did not receive a written request

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for reconsideration. Bjurstrom Decl., ¶ 13.
Over eight months later, on June 16, 2021, Walls filed a complaint against Leckelt in his

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individual capacity in Island County Superior Court. Complaint (Dkt. # 1-1). The case was

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removed to this court in November 2021. Notice of Removal (Dkt. # 1). The United States of

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America was substituted for Leckelt as the defendant, and now moves for summary judgment.

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Notice of Substitution (Dkt. # 2), Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 6).

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III.

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ANALYSIS

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A.

Summary Judgment Standard
Summary judgment is proper only if the evidence, when viewed in the light most

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favorable to the non-moving party, demonstrates “that there is no genuine dispute as to any

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material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a);
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see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986); Galen v. Cnty. of L.A., 477 F.3d

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652, 658 (9th Cir. 2007). The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the

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nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of a claim in the case

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on which the nonmoving party has the burden of proof. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323.
A fact is “material” if it might affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,

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Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A factual dispute is “genuine” if the evidence is such that

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reasonable persons could disagree about whether the facts claimed by the moving party are true.

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Aydin Corp. v. Loral Corp., 718 F.2d 897, 902 (9th Cir. 1983). “Uncorroborated allegations and

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‘self-serving testimony’ will not create a genuine issue of material fact.” Heko Servs., Inc. v.

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ChemTrack Alaska, Inc., 418 F. Supp. 3d 656, 660 (W.D. Wash. 2019) (quoting Villiarimo v.

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Aloha Island Air, Inc., 281 F.3d 1054, 1061 (9th Cir. 2002)).
The moving party bears the initial burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of

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material fact and that they are entitled to prevail as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. If

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the moving party meets its burden, then the non-moving party “must make a showing sufficient

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to establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the existence of the essential elements of

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[their] case that [they] must prove at trial.” Galen, 477 F.3d at 658.

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B.

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Statute of Limitations
Defendant says that summary judgment is appropriate because the Federal Tort Claims

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Act’s (FTCA) 1 statute of limitations bars Plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff opposes summary

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judgment, saying that Defendant leaves open questions of law and fact regarding whether the

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Postal Reorganization Act applies. The Court concludes that the FTCA’s statute of limitations

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bars Plaintiff’s claim.

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28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671–80 (2000).

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Under the FTCA, a lawsuit against the United States is the exclusive remedy for personal

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injury “arising or resulting from the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of

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the Government while acting within the scope of [their] office or employment.”

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28 U.S.C. 2679(b)(1). The FTCA requires a party to pursue an administrative remedy with the

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“appropriate Federal agency” and to receive a final denial before instituting a lawsuit against the

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United States. 28 U.S.C. 2675(a). And a “tort claim against the United States shall be forever

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barred . . . unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or

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registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.”

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28 U.S.C. 2401(b) (emphasis added).

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Plaintiff does not dispute that she filed her complaint over eight months after the USPS’s

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final denial in October 2020. She instead discusses the Postal Reorganization Act 2 and says that

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Defendant does not explain “the correlation of the Postal Reorganization Act . . . or the

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application of the FTCA.” Dkt. # 10 at 6. This appears to be an argument that the FTCA does

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not apply to her claim. But in her brief, Plaintiff also acknowledges that the FTCA applies to

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claims against USPS employees. Dkt. # 10 at 4 (“The provisions of chapter 171 and all other

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provisions of title 28 relating to tort claims shall apply to tort claims arising out of activities of

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the Postal Service” (quoting 39 U.S.C. 409(c))). If Plaintiff is arguing that she brought her claim

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under the Postal Reorganization Act, and that the FTCA’s statute of limitations is thus irrelevant,

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she fails to identify a provision of the Postal Reorganization Act providing her with such a cause

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of action. The FTCA applies to claims such as Plaintiff’s and imposes a six-month limit on

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when Plaintiff can bring her suit following the USPS final denial. She filed her claim over eight

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39 U.S.C. § 401, et seq.

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months after the final denial. And she did not file a request for reconsideration. See

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28 C.F.R. 14.9.

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Plaintiff also states that the “Government’s motion does not address the application of the

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individual claim and cause of action filed against defendant David Leckelt.” But Defendant does

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explain that it was substituted for Leckelt as the defendant in this case pursuant to

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28 U.S.C. § 2679(b)(1), which states that a lawsuit against the United States is the exclusive

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remedy for personal injury “arising or resulting from the negligent or wrongful act or omission

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of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment.”

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Plaintiff does not argue that Leckelt was not acting his official capacity at the time of the alleged

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accident, nor does she contest the substitution. This argument does not preclude summary

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judgment in Defendant’s favor.

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C.

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Equitable Tolling
Plaintiff alternatively contends that the Court should apply the doctrine of equitable

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tolling to her case. Defendant responds that Plaintiff has failed to establish the elements needed

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for equitable tolling to apply. The Court agrees with Defendant.

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The doctrine of equitable tolling applies to the FTCA’s statute of limitations in

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28 U.S.C. § 2401. United States v. Wong, 575 U.S. 402, 412 (2015). A party seeking equitable

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tolling “‘bears the burden of establishing two elements: (1) that [they have] been pursuing [their]

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rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstances stood in [their] way.’” Kwai Fun

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Wong v. Beebe, 732 F.3d 1030, 1052 (9th Cir. 2013), aff’d and remanded sub nom. United States

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v. Wong, 575 U.S. 402 (2015) (quoting Credit Suisse Sec. (USA) LLC v. Simmonds, 566 U.S.

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221, 227 (2012))). The first element requires “‘effort that a reasonable person might be expected

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to deliver under [their] particular circumstances.’” Id. (quoting Doe v. Busby, 661 F.3d 1001,

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1015 (9th Cir. 2011)). The second element is not satisfied with a showing of a “garden variety
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claim of excusable neglect, such as a simple miscalculation that leads a lawyer to miss a filing

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deadline.” Id. (quoting Holland v. Fla., 560 U.S. 631, 651 (2010)). “Federal courts have

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typically extended equitable relief only sparingly.” Irwin v. Dep’t of Veterans Affs., 498 U.S. 89,

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96 (1990).

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Plaintiff fails to meet her burden of establishing the two elements needed for equitable

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tolling. Plaintiff’s entire argument supporting her request for equitable tolling is: “Documents

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included in the Government’s motion show that there was communication sufficient with the

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representatives of the USPS for the Court to use its inherent power to allow equitable tolling and

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allow plaintiff’s claim to proceed.” Dkt. # 10 at 5. It is unclear to which documents Plaintiff is

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referring, or what she purports they show. Most of the documents filed with Defendant’s motion

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are letters from USPS to Plaintiff’s counsel, repeatedly asking them to send Plaintiff’s medical

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records and bills. If anything, these documents show a lack of diligence in pursuing her

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administrative claim. And nothing in the record shows evidence that Plaintiff diligently pursued

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her claim during the eight-month period between the final denial and when she filed her

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complaint or that extraordinary circumstances prevented her from filing within the six-month

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period.

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IV.

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CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion for summary judgment
(Dkt. # 6).

Dated this 9th day of May, 2022.

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John H. Chun
United States District Judge

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ORDER RE: MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT - 6