Anderson v. United States

54 Fed. Cl. 620, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2002 WL 31778676
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedDecember 12, 2002
DocketNo. 01-510C
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 54 Fed. Cl. 620 (Anderson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. United States, 54 Fed. Cl. 620, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2002 WL 31778676 (uscfc 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

YOCK, Senior Judge.

This military pay case is before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and on the plaintiffs motions for summary judgment and for discovery. For the reasons set forth below, the defendant’s motion is granted in [622]*622part and denied in part, the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part, and the plaintiffs motion for discovery is denied.

Background

On November 9,1992, the plaintiff enlisted in the regular component of the United States Marine Corps for a period of four years. Pursuant to his enlistment agreement, the plaintiff was to serve an additional four years in a reserve component after the expiration of his four-year term of active duty. On September 26, 1996, a general court-martial convicted the plaintiff of conspiracy, unauthorized absence, and robbery (all such offenses having been committed on or before February 7, 1996) and sentenced the plaintiff to dishonorable discharge, confinement for 20 years, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction from pay grade E-3 to pay grade E-l. The Government terminated the plaintiffs pay and allowances on October 10, 1996, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 857.1 On December 27, 1996, the convening authority approved the findings and the sentence of the court-martial.2 The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and the sentence, both on the initial appeal3 and upon reconsideration.4 On further appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces affirmed the court-martial conviction, but set aside the convening authority’s action on the sentence, concluding that the convening authority had reviewed new matter that the plaintiff had not been given the opportunity to rebut. The Court of Appeals for .the Armed Forces ordered the record of trial to be submitted to a different convening authority for action on the sentence, thus affording the plaintiff an opportunity for sentence relief.5

The plaintiff filed his Complaint in this Court on September 4, 2001. The plaintiff contends that when his four years of active service expired, on December 5, 1996,6 he was automatically transferred to inactive reserve status. Because the Government did not then recall him to active duty for the purpose of having the convening authority take action on the sentence imposed by the court-martial, the plaintiff theorizes that an implied contractual extension of his active duty service occurred. The plaintiff asserts that, because he has been retained on active duty for the convenience of the Government, he is entitled to active duty pay and allowances until such time as the second convening authority takes valid action on the court-martial’s sentence. The plaintiff seeks military back pay from October 10, 1996, until such time that a valid convening authority action is executed, “illegal confinement” pay, and “penalty interest,” totaling more than $2 million. In his “Combined Motion in Reply to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, Motion for Summary Judgment, and Motion for ‘Discovery’ ” (“Pl.’s Mot.”), the plaintiff also requests correction of his military records to reflect that he was in an “inactive reserve” status as of his end of active service .date. In the event that his motion for summary judgment is denied, the plaintiff requests that the Court order discovery of certain materials allegedly needed for “perfecting his Com[623]*623plaint.” In another filing entitled “Plaintiffs Response to the Defendants Below Motions and his Movement for Summary Judgment” (“PL’s Resp.”), the plaintiff alternatively asserts that he is entitled to placement in the inactive reserve as of his end of active service date and to pay and allowances statutorily mandated for certain members of reserve components.

During the pendency of this action, the Government issued a check to the plaintiff in the amount of • $2,386, which the plaintiff twice refused to accept. Pursuant to an order of this Court, the defendant filed “Defendant’s Status Report” on September 13, 2002. In that filing, the defendant explains that it had asked the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (“DFAS”) to review the plaintiffs claim. According to the defendant, the DFAS determined that, because the plaintiff was required to make up time to compensate for a period of unauthorized absence, the plaintiffs end of active service date should have been adjusted from November 9,1996, to December 5,1996. In addition, the DFAS determined that, pursuant to United States v. Gorski, 47 M.J. 370 (C.A.A.F.1997),7 the plaintiff was entitled to pay and allowances from October 10, 1996, until his adjusted end of active service date. The DFAS calculated that $2,386 in pay and allowances was owed to the plaintiff, as an E-3, for the period of October 10, 1996, through December 5, 1996, and issued a check in that amount to the plaintiff. Because the Defendant’s Status Report and the calculations appended thereto constituted matters outside the pleadings, the Court informed the parties in an Order dated September 17, 2002, that the defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”) would be treated as one for summary judgment and instructed the plaintiff to respond accordingly.

In the Plaintiffs Response to the Defendant’s Status Report, the plaintiff does not dispute that December 5,1996, is his properly adjusted end of active service date. The plaintiff also does not dispute that $2,386 is the appropriate calculation of E-3 pay and allowances for the period of October 10,1996, through December 5, 1996. Instead, the plaintiff reiterates his legal conclusion that he is statutorily entitled to pay and allowances “as a reservist on active-duty until 27 December 1996, the date of the Convening Authority’s action, pursuant to 37 U.S.C. 206 and 10 U.S.C. 857.” (Pl.’s Resp. to the Def.’s Status Report ¶ 3.)

The defendant seeks dismissal of the Complaint for lack of jurisdiction, pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1), or for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(6). As previously mentioned, the defendant’s RCFC 12(b)(6) motion is treated as a motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff seeks summary judgment pursuant to RCFC 56(a). Oral argument was not requested and is deemed unnecessary.

Discussion

I. Standards of Review

In assessing the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, the Court accepts as true all undisputed allegations of fact asserted by the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974), abrogated on other grounds by Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984). In addition, the Court holds the pro se plaintiffs pleadings to “less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
54 Fed. Cl. 620, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2002 WL 31778676, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-united-states-uscfc-2002.