Boyd v. United States

932 F. Supp. 2d 830, 2013 WL 1131074, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36917
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedMarch 18, 2013
DocketCase No. 2:11-CV-00948
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 932 F. Supp. 2d 830 (Boyd v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boyd v. United States, 932 F. Supp. 2d 830, 2013 WL 1131074, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36917 (S.D. Ohio 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ALGENON L. MARBLEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on Defendant’s, United States of America, Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 12). Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. For the reasons stated herein, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Jonathan Boyd (“Boyd”) alleges his personal medical information was disclosed to third parties without his consent on two different occasions by employees of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (‘VA”), in violation of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.

Boyd alleges that in January of 2009, he first learned of an autumn 2008 disclosure of his health information, without his consent. Complaint, Doc. 3 at 3. According to Boyd, his wife informed him that in the fall of 2008, his physician from the Dayton VA Medical Center disclosed to his wife information regarding Boyd’s medication. Id. Boyd alleges a second unauthorized disclosure occurred on August 24, 2009, when a nurse at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Primary Health Clinic announced results of Boyd’s medical test in the clinic’s public area, permitting others to hear. Id. It is undisputed that Boyd was advised by the Department of Veterans Affairs on August 24, 2009 that his health information may have been compromised. Motion to Dismiss, Doc. 12 at 2.

On December 22, 2010, prior to filing this suit, Boyd filed an administrative tort claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Doc. 18, Exh. 1 at 68. The VA notified Boyd of the denial of his administrative claim on April 22, 2011, stating:

[Y]ou may file suit in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act, sections 1346(b) and 2671-2680, title 28, United States Code, which provides that a tort claim that is administratively denied may be presented to a Federal district court for judicial consideration. Such a suit must be initiated within 6 months after the date of the mailing of this notice of final denial as shown by the date of this letter.

Doc. 18, Exh. 1 at 68.. Boyd did, in fact, file this action within six months, to the day, of receiving the April 22 letter. Boyd filed a Privacy Act claim, however, rather than a Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) claim. Complaint, Doc. 3 at 2.

Boyd alleges he was advised of his rights “to sue under the Privacy Act in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act ... which provides that a tort claim that is denied may be brought to a federal court for consideration. This action was brought within the six month time frame allowed.” Plaintiff’s Response, Doc. 16 at 3-4. Boyd apparently mistook his rights under the FTCA for those under the Privacy Act. He erroneously believed his rights under both Acts to be the same.

B. Procedural Background

Boyd filed this action against the United States on October 21, 2011; he proceeds pro se. Defendant moves to dismiss this action under F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Motion to Dismiss, Doc. 12 at 2. Defendant argues that Boyd’s claim is time-barred because he failed to file his Privacy Act claim within the relevant statute of limita[834]*834tions period. Id. at 3. The statute of limitations for the particular Privacy Act claim raised by Plaintiff is two years, from the time Plaintiff “knows or has .reason to know” of the alleged violation. See Oja v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 440 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir.2006); see also Lockett v. Potter, 259 Fed.Appx. 784, 787 (6th Cir.2008). The motion has been fully briefed and is now ripe for decision.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Subject matter jurisdiction is a threshold matter that á court must decide prior to considering a claim’s merits. City of Heath, Ohio v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 834 F.Supp. 971, 975 (S.D.Ohio 1993). Rule 12(b)(1) provides that the defendant may file a motion to dismiss based on a “lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). The plaintiff has the burden of proving jurisdiction when subject matter jurisdiction is challenged. Rogers v. Stratton Indus., 798 F.2d 913, 915 (6th Cir.1986). Attacks on subject matter jurisdiction may be either facial attacks or factual attacks. United States v. Ritchie, 15 F.3d 592, 598 (6th Cir.1994). A facial attack challenges the legal sufficiency of the complaint. When considering such a challenge, the court “must take the material allegations of the petition as true and eonstrue[] [them] in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Id.

While a court does not consider “matters outside of the pleadings” when testing the sufficiency of a claim, “ ‘[a] copy of any written instrument which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes.’ ” Weiner v. Klais & Co., Inc., 108 F.3d 86, 89 (6th Cir.1997) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(c)). If this were not the case, “a plaintiff with a legally deficient claim could survive a motion to dismiss simply by failing to attach a dispositive document upon which it relied.” Id. Furthermore, where extrinsic materials “add nothing new, but, in- effect, reiterate the contents of the complaint itself,” they may be considered without converting a motion to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment. Yeary v. Goodwill Indus.-Knoxville, Inc., 107 F.3d 443, 445 (6th Cir.1997). The chief concern when considering extrinsic materials on a motion to dismiss is that defendants seeking dismissal not suffer “any prejudicial surprise” as a result of the plaintiff including documents, with its pleadings. Id. In the Sixth Circuit matters of public record may, at the court’s discretion, also be considered at the dismissal stage. Kostrzewa v. City of Troy, 247 F.3d 633, 644 (6th Cir.2001).

IV. LAW AND ANALYSIS

A. Privacy Act: “No Disclosure Without Consent” Rule

Section 552a(b) of the Privacy Act prohibits a federal agency from releasing information about an individual without her consent, subject to certain exceptions not relevant here. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b) (“No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communications to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains [subject to twelve exceptions].”).

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932 F. Supp. 2d 830, 2013 WL 1131074, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyd-v-united-states-ohsd-2013.