Supreme Court hears arguments on time limit for suing US government News
Supreme Court hears arguments on time limit for suing US government

The US Supreme Court [official website] heard oral arguments [day call, PDF] Wednesday in two cases [JURIST report] concerning time bars for filing claims against the US government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) [28 USC § 2401(b)]. In United States v. Wong [transcript, PDF] the court heard arguments on whether the six-month time bar for filing suit in federal court under the FTCA is subject to equitable tolling. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held [opinion] “that § 2401(b) is not “jurisdictional,” and that equitable tolling is available under the circumstances presented in this case.”

In United States v. June [transcript, PDF] the court considered a similar question: “Whether the two-year time limit for filing an administrative claim with the appropriate federal agency under the [FTCA] … is subject to equitable tolling.” The Ninth Circuit reached the same conclusion [opinion] in light of its ruling in Wong.

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