VALADEZ-LOPEZ v. Chertoff, 656 F.3d 851

Valadez-Lopez, an undocumented immigrant, was detained by local authorities in contract with the federal government and allegedly deprived of schizophrenia medication during detention.
He initially sued under § 1983 and Bivens, and separately filed FTCA administrative claims with federal agencies for medication deprivation.
After six months with no agency response, he amended his complaint to name the United States and assert FTCA liability, then the agencies denied the claims.
The district court dismissed the FTCA claims for lack of administrative exhaustion and granted summary judgment on § 1983 claims.
On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held exhaustion was satisfied but addressed alternative grounds for dismissal, including the scope of the FTCA waiver and Monell notice issues.
The court ultimately affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the FTCA claim (not within the waiver) and summary judgment on the § 1983/Monell claims.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was FTCA exhaustion satisfied?	Valadez-Lopez exhausted by amending after six months of no agency response.	Filing an amended complaint does not constitute exhaustion; must file a new suit.	Exhaustion properly satisfied.
Does the FTCA waiver cover Valadez-Lopez's medication claim?	Claims against federal actors fall within the waiver.	Medication deprivation claims do not fall within the waiver since defendants are not officers/employees/contractors meeting the criteria.	FTCA waiver not satisfied; claim dismissed.
Did Valadez-Lopez sufficiently plead a FTCA claim against a government actor or contractor?	Complaint alleged negligent deprivation by federal actors during detention.	Complaint was vague and failed to identify acts by federal employees or qualifying contractors.	Dismissed for failure to state a viable FTCA claim.
Were Monell/§1983 claims properly adjudicated after notice issues?	County should be liable for training-related §1983 claims.	No Monell notice; Lown summary judgment; no policy evidence against county.	Summary judgment affirmed on §1983 and Monell claims.

Jerves v. United States, 966 F.2d 517 (9th Cir. 1992) (FTCA exhaustion is a jurisdictional prerequisite)
McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106 (Supreme Court 1993) (complete exhaustion required before invoking courts)
Ibrahim v. Department of Homeland Security, 538 F.3d 1250 (9th Cir. 2008) (stay-and-exhaust approach when exhaustion pending during litigation)
Letnes v. United States, 820 F.2d 1517 (9th Cir. 1987) (government contractor liability under FTCA test)
United States v. Orleans, 425 U.S. 807 (U.S. 1976) (supervision/control standard for contractor liability)
Cadwalder v. United States, 45 F.3d 297 (9th Cir. 1995) (strict adherence to exhaustion and waiver principles)