DISCLAIMER:  The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
                        as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.

202697P.pdf   06/30/2021  Cassondra King  v.  United States
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  20-2697
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis   
   [PUBLISHED] [Kelly, Author, with Grasz and Kobes, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Federal Tort Claims Act. Department of Justice regulations 
   specifically contemplate Ms. Mullen, the personal representative of the 
   deceased's estate appointed under Missouri law, may present an 
   administrative wrongful death claim even it she is not authorized to bring 
   an FTCA claim in that same capacity; given the plain reading of the FTCA 
   and the corresponding regulations, Ms. Mullen, as the personal 
   representative, had the requisite authority to present a wrongful death 
   claim to the VA, and plaintiff King's FTCA claim was administratively 
   exhausted by the denial of Ms. Mullen's claim; as a result, the district 
   court had subject matter jurisdiction over King's FTCA action, and erred 
   in dismissing the case; remanded for further proceedings.