28 U.S.C. § 2402
Section 2402 · Jury trial in actions against United States
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 267 court decisions — leading case United States v. Neustadt (1961)
Most recently applied in Le v. United States (May 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (26 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 28 U.S.C. § 1346 · 28 U.S.C. § 2674 · 28 U.S.C. § 2680
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Subject to chapter 179 of this title, any action against the United States under section 1346 shall be tried by the court without a jury, except that any action against the United States under section 1346(a)(1) shall, at the request of either party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§41(20), 931(a) (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §24, par. 20, 36 Stat. 1093; Nov. 23, 1921, ch. 136, §1310(c), 42 Stat. 311; June 2, 1924, 4:01 p.m., ch. 234, §1025(c), 43 Stat. 348; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 309, 43 Stat. 972; Feb. 26, 1926, ch. 27, §§1122(c), 1200, 44 Stat. 121, 125; Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 753, §410(a), 60 Stat. 843).
Section consolidates non-jury provisions of sections 41(20) and 931(a) of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed. For other provisions of said section 931(a) relating to tort claims, see Distribution Table.
Word “actions” was substituted for “suits”, in view of Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Provisions of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §41(20) relating to jurisdiction of district courts and time for bringing actions against the United States are the basis of sections 1346 and 2401 of this title.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–331 substituted “Subject to chapter 179 of this title, any action” for “Any action”.
1954—Act July 30, 1954, permitted a jury trial at the request of either party in actions under section 1346(a)(1) of this title.
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–331 effective Oct. 1, 1997, see section 3(d) of Pub. L. 104–331, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1296 of this title.