UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ NELDA KELLOM, individually and as personal │ representative of the Estate of Terrance Kellom, │ deceased; KEVIN KELLOM, TERIA KELLOM, LAWANDA │ KELLOM, and TERRELL KELLOM, individually; JANAY │ Nos. 22-1591/1592 WILLIAMS, as personal representative of Terrance > Kellom’s two minor children, son, T.D.K., and │ daughter, T.D.K., │ │ Plaintiffs-Appellants, │ │ v. │ │ │ MITCHELL QUINN, et al., │ Defendants, │ │ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Defendant-Appellee. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. Nos. 2:17-cv-11084; 2:19-cv-11622—Sean F. Cox, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: November 8, 2023

Before: SILER, MOORE, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges.

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COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Nabih H. Ayad, AYAD LAW, PLLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellants. Zak Toomey, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellee. Nos. 22-1591/1592 Kellom, et al. v. Quinn, et al. Page 2

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OPINION _________________

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. These cases present two types of claims: some filed too soon, and some filed too late. After a federal officer shot Terrance Kellom, Kellom’s estate and family members sued. But the estate sued before seeking administrative remedies, and the family raised their claims after the statute of limitations passed. The district court dismissed the claims as premature or untimely. We affirm.

I.

On April 27, 2015, federal agent Michael Quinn shot and killed Kellom while trying to arrest him.

Kellom’s estate. Nearly two years later, Kellom’s estate sued Quinn, raising tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act and an excessive-force claim under Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). Following FTCA procedure, the United States replaced Quinn as the defendant to the tort claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d)(1). Then, the estate filed a claim with Quinn’s employer, the Department of Homeland Security, based on Kellom’s death. DHS denied the claim.

The FTCA requires plaintiffs to seek relief “first” from the relevant federal agency before suing. Id. The estate, however, sued before filing a claim with DHS. So, after DHS denied the estate’s claim, the United States sent the estate a letter, explaining that the estate needed to bring a new lawsuit to proceed with its FTCA claims.

The estate didn’t bring a new suit. Instead, in May 2018, it amended its earli