Lornell Wiseman v. United States

Lornell Wiseman presents the single question whether the district court had jurisdiction to hear this Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) personal injury action. The district court dismissed with prejudice Wiseman’s claim because the United States Postal Service (the Postal Service), by virtue of issuing a check in the full amount Wiseman entered on a Standard Form 95 (“Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death”) (SF 95), never finally denied her claim. See 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). We reverse.

I

On November 2, 1988, Wiseman suffered injuries in an accident with a Postal Service vehicle. On December 30, 1989,…