This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at Balls and Strikes.
Generally, a common-law principle known as sovereign immunity prevents the federal government from being sued, unless the government chooses to waive that privilege. In 1946, Congress laid out a few exceptions to this rule by passing the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people allegedly injured by the government to sue “in the same manner and to the same extent” as they would be able to sue anyone else. But first, the law requires any would-be plaintiff to file an administrative claim with the relevant agency, outlining their legal case and making a formal request for money damages. The idea here is to give the government plenty of time and space to negotiate a settlement before it has to face a jury in federal court.
