Case Information
*1 Case 3:25-cv-04012-JD Document 20 Filed 06/30/25 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA KENNETH MATSUMURA, Case No. 25-cv-04012-JD Plaintiff, ORDER RE DISMISSAL v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.
Pro se plaintiff Kenneth Matsumura filed a small claims complaint in the Alameda County Superior Court alleging that his car was hit by defendant Michael Nealy’s truck, resulting in $2,334.41 in damages. Dkt. No. 1-1. The United States of America, “as substituted for federal defendant United States Postal Employee Michael Eugene Nealy,” removed the case to this Court pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d)(2), Dkt. No. 1, and has formally substituted into the case as the defendant in place of Nealy under the Westfall Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2679(b). Dkt. No. 5.
The United States has moved to dismiss Matsumura’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because Matsumura did not exhaust his administrative remedies prior to filing suit, as is required under the FTCA. Dkt. No. 9. As the ECF docket indicates and the United States has noted, Matsumura has not opposed the motion to dismiss. See Dkt. No. 18.
The unopposed motion is granted. “[T]he FTCA is the exclusive mode of recovery for the tort of a Government employee . . . .” Meridian Int’l Logistics, Inc. v. United States , 939 F.2d 740, 743 n.1 (9th Cir.1991) (internal quotation marks omitted). Administrative exhaustion is a jurisdictional prerequisite for filing a tort claim against the federal government. See 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a) (“An action shall not be instituted . . . unless the claimant shall have first presented the *2 Case 3:25-cv-04012-JD Document 20 Filed 06/30/25 Page 2 of 2 claim to the appropriate Federal agency and his claim shall have been finally denied by the agency in writing and sent by certified or registered mail.”).
Matsumura’s complaint does not allege that he first presented his tort claim to the appropriate agency, see Dkt. No. 1-1, and he has not otherwise presented any evidence or argument that he has done so. The United States has submitted a declaration stating that it has no record of any claim filed by Matsumura against the United States Postal Service. See Dkt. No. 9-1 (Herbst Decl.).
Matsumura’s claim against the United States is consequently dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The hearing that was set for July 3, 2025, is vacated and the case is closed.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 30, 2025 JAMES DONATO United States District Judge
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