Anderson v. United States

85 Fed. Cl. 532, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 14, 2009 WL 234617
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJanuary 28, 2009
DocketNo. 08-260 C
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 85 Fed. Cl. 532 (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, 85 Fed. Cl. 532, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 14, 2009 WL 234617 (uscfc 2009).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Judge.

Before the court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (defendant’s Motion or Def.’s Mot.), plaintiffs Objection to Defendant’s Rule 12(b) Motions to Dismiss, plaintiffs Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs Objection to Defendant[’]s Motion to Dismiss1 (plaintiffs Response or Pl.’s Resp.), Defendant’s Reply to Plaintiffs Response to Its Motion to Dismiss (defendant’s Reply or Def.’s Reply), plaintiffs Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs Objection to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (plaintiffs Supplemental Memorandum or Pl.’s Supp. Mem.), and Defendant’s Response to Plaintiffs Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs Objection to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (defendant’s Response or Def.’s Resp.). For the foregoing reasons, defendant’s Motion is GRANTED.

I. Background

A Procedural History

On August 24, 2007 plaintiff filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Anderson v. Nicholson, No. 07-cv-1343, Dkt. No. 1 (M.D.Fla. Aug. 24, 2007). On March 13, 2008 plaintiff filed a motion to transfer the case to the United States Court of Federal Claims (USCFC). Id. at Dkt. No. 29. On March 19, 2008 the district court granted plaintiffs motion and transferred the ease to this court. Id. at Dkt. No. 30. Plaintiff filed his complaint in this court on May 9, 2008 claiming a “breach of an implied right of action under Federal law for the failure to refund Plaintiffs equity in a home purchased by Plaintiff with a loan guaranteed by the Defendant following foreclosure of the loan by the lender, purchase of the home by Defendant at the foreclosure sale and re-sale of the home by Defendant.” Complaint (plaintiffs Complaint or Compl.), filed May 9, 2008 113. Defendant filed its motion to dismiss on July 15,2008. Def.’s Mot. 2-3.

B. Factual Background

Mr. Anderson, a veteran, purchased a parcel of real property in Florida in March 1996 that was financed by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. (Wells Fargo) through a note and a mortgage that was partially guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA). Compl. Iff 12-13; Def.’s Mot. 3. The VA home loan guaranty2 program provides for partial guaranties on home loans for veterans. 38 U.S.C. §§ 3701-36 (2006). The guaranty “operate[s] as the substantial equivalent of a down payment in the same amount by the veteran on the purchase price, in order to induce prospective mortgagee-creditors to provide 100% financing for a veteran’s home.” United States v. Shimer (Shimer), 367 U.S. 374, 383, 81 S.Ct. 1554, 6 L.Ed.2d 908 (1961).

[536]*536Mr. Anderson became délinquent on his loan and Wells Fargo instituted foreclosure proceedings in Florida state court in September 2000. Compl. U1Í14-15; Def.’s Mot. 3. Wells Fargo made a claim against the VA under the terms of the guaranty. Compl. U16; Def.’s Mot. 3. At the court-ordered foreclosure sale the VA was the highest bidder for the property and purchased the property from Wells Fargo. Compl. UU17-20; Def.’s Mot. 3. In August 2001 the VA sold the property to a third party in a private sale and received approximately $65,000 over and above the guarantied amount. Compl. UU 21-22; see Def.’s Mot. 3. Plaintiff claims that the VA is not entitled to the $65,000 profit and, instead, that the VA should remit the profit to him. Compl. UU2, 22-25; Def.’s Mot. 3.

II. Legal Standards

A. Jurisdiction

The USCFC, like all federal courts, is a court of limited jurisdiction. See United States v. King, 395 U.S. 1, 3, 89 S.Ct. 1501, 23 L.Ed.2d 52 (1969). The Tucker Act is the primary statute establishing the jurisdiction of the court. 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) (2006). In relevant part, the statute provides that this court “shall have jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded either upon the Constitution, or any Act of Congress or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States.” Id.

The Tucker Act provides the waiver of sovereign immunity necessary to sue the United States for money damages, but the plaintiff must establish an independent substantive right to money damages from the United States, that is, a money-mandating source within a contract, regulation, statute, or constitutional provision itself, in order for the case to proceed. See United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, 398, 96 S.Ct. 948, 47 L.Ed.2d 114 (1976). As stated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit), the alleged source of the substantive right to money damages must “be reasonably amenable to the reading that it mandates a right of recovery in damages. While the premise to a Tucker Act claim will not be ‘lightly inferred,’ ... a fair inference will do.” Fisher v. United States (Fisher), 402 F.3d 1167, 1174 (Fed.Cir. 2005) (en banc) (quoting United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465, 472-73, 123 S.Ct. 1126, 155 L.Ed.2d 40 (2003)) (emphases and omission in original).

The burden of proof of establishing jurisdiction is borne by the plaintiff. McNutt v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp. (McNutt), 298 U.S. 178, 189, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936); Russell v. United States, 78 Fed.Cl. 281, 285 (2007). If the defendant challenges jurisdictional facts, the plaintiff must support them with “competent proof.” McNutt, 298 U.S. at 189, 56 S.Ct. 780. The plaintiff bears the burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that jurisdiction is proper. Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exch. Serv. (Reynolds), 846 F.2d 746, 748 (Fed.Cir.1988). Jurisdiction is a threshold matter and a case can proceed no further if the court lacks jurisdiction to hear it. Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 94, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998).

B. Motions to Dismiss

Rule 12(b) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC) governs motions to dismiss. Specifically, RCFC 12(b)(1) governs the dismissal of claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and RCFC 12(b)(6) governs dismissal of claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. RCFC 12(b).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brinkman v. United States
Federal Claims, 2022
Xp Vehicles, Inc. v. United States
121 Fed. Cl. 770 (Federal Claims, 2015)
Allen v. United States
Federal Claims, 2014
Daniels v. United States
947 F. Supp. 2d 11 (District of Columbia, 2013)
Tippett v. United States
98 Fed. Cl. 171 (Federal Claims, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
85 Fed. Cl. 532, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 14, 2009 WL 234617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-united-states-uscfc-2009.