This toolkit is for attorneys who have already filed Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) administrative complaints on behalf of separated families and are now counseling their clients about filing a federal lawsuit or other next steps in their case. To learn more about filing an FTCA administrative claim, see our administrative complaint toolkit.
The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF) prepared the below counseling script, list of potential torts templates, and samples. These materials were created for our internal use on cases filed by families who were separated at the border, and we are sharing them in the hopes they will be useful to other advocates. These documents are not intended for formal publication, are not meant to be exhaustive, and are not a substitute for independent legal advice in any case.
- 1 – Client Counseling Script on Next Steps in FTCA cases
- 2 – Sample Receipt of FTCA Admin Complaint
- 3 – Template FTCA Admin Complaint Closing Letter
- 4 – Info Sheet with Family Separation Background Resources & Litigation Relevant to Family Separation
- 5 – FTCA Immigration Practice Advisory (from NILA and NIPNLG)
- 6 – List of Family Separation Damages Cases in Active Litigation
- 7 – Memo on Relevant State Tort Laws (Arizona, California, Texas)
- 8 – Venue Overview for FTCA Cases
- 9 – List of Common Defenses in Family Separation Damages Cases
- 10 – Example Federal FTCA Complaint for Separated Families
- 11 – Example Federal FTCA Complaint with Additional Torts and Claims Against ORR Contractor
- 12 – Sample Redacted Opposition to Government Motion to Dismiss
- 13 – Practice Advisory: Settling FTCA Litigation for Immigration Relief (from NIPNLG and ASAP)
For more information about a recent FTCA victory by ASAP’s client Suny Rodríguez Alvarado in Rodriguez Alvarado v. United States, including case documents, click here.
If you are an advocate planning to file a damages lawsuit on behalf of an asylum seeker and would like to discuss your case further, or would like to join a confidential listserv for attorneys working on these cases, please contact us at ftca@lccrsf.org. If you would like access to the October 2020 webinar on FTCA litigation for separated families, please contact us at the above email.
