Burton v. United States

CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedNovember 20, 2025
Docket25-1598
StatusUnpublished

This text of Burton v. United States (Burton 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.

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Burton v. United States, (uscfc 2025).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS NOT FOR PUBLICATION ______________________________________ ) RODERICK V. BURTON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) No. 25-cv-1598 ) v. ) Filed: November 20, 2025 ) THE UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ______________________________________ )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiff Roderick V. Burton, proceeding pro se, alleges that various federal officials have

committed wrongs against him, including breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contract,

copyright infringement, and continuing harassment. These alleged wrongs appear to arise out of

Plaintiff’s federal criminal conviction for bank robbery in the U.S. District Court for the Northern

District of Illinois. Plaintiff’s Updated Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“Updated IFP

Application”) is currently pending before the Court. For the reasons explained below, the Court

GRANTS Plaintiff’s Updated IFP Application and DISMISSES Plaintiff’s Complaint.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 25, 2025, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this Court naming the United States

and five individuals as Defendants, including U.S. District Judge Sharon J. Coleman, two federal

prosecutors, and two federal probation officers. See Pl.’s Compl. at 1, ECF No. 1. Plaintiff

characterizes the individual defendants as “Trustees of the Conditional Acceptance (CA) contract.”

Id. He alleges that they breached that contract and their fiduciary duty “by failing to settle the

account, release bonds, and terminate probation.” Id. at 3. These allegations appear to stem from

a criminal case brought against Plaintiff in the Northern District of Illinois, over which Judge Coleman presided. In that case, Plaintiff was convicted of five counts of bank robbery by force or

violence. See United States v. Burton, No. 15-cr-00312 (N.D. Ill. May 28, 2015).

In his Complaint in this Court, Plaintiff states that he filed a “Conditional Acceptance” in

that criminal case, as well as an “Affidavit of Notice of Default and Affidavit of Certificate of

Non-Response.” ECF No. 1 at 2; see also ECF No. 1-4 at 3, 43, 60, 64. The case proceeded to

trial, and according to Plaintiff, Judge Coleman “fraudulently” shifted from “law” to “statutory

law” in explaining the court’s jurisdiction over the case during a hearing. ECF No. 1 at 2. Plaintiff

also claims that Judge Coleman was “fraudulent” when she identified banks as the injured party in

that case because “banks are corporations and cannot be injured parties under common law.” Id.

He then claims that the Assistant U.S. Attorneys named as Defendants “acquiesced by silence” to

Plaintiff’s “Conditional Acceptance and Affidavits of Fact.” Id. Further, Plaintiff alleges

harassment and fraud by the two probation officers named as Defendants because they did not

terminate Plaintiff’s probation. See id. Finally, Plaintiff alleges copyright infringement in

violation of his “Common Law Copyright,” which purports to protect his name. Id. at 3; see also

ECF No. 1-4 at 14.

Plaintiff’s requested relief includes: (1) damages of $10,550,000 per Defendant and

“continuing accruals as agreed;” (2) “[i]mmediate closure and settlement of Case No. 15-cr-

00312;” (3) “[r]elease of all associated bonds to Plaintiff;” (4) “[r]eporting of taxes to IRS via

Form 1099-OID;” (5) “[t]ermination of probation and cease-and-desist against U.S. Probation

Department;” (6) “[c]onfirmation of Plaintiff’s authority to enforce payment via UCC filings,

liens, and Treasury reporting;” and (7) “[s]uch further relief as this Court deems just and proper.”

ECF No. 1 at 3.

2 On the same date that he filed the Complaint, Plaintiff also filed an IFP Application. See

ECF No. 2. On October 1, 2025, the Court entered an Order staying the case and denying without

prejudice Plaintiff’s first IFP Application due to incompleteness. See Order, ECF No. 5. The

Court ordered Plaintiff to either pay the $405 filing fee or submit a revised IFP Application by

October 15, 2025. Id. On October 20, 2025, the Court again ordered Plaintiff to either pay the

$405 filing fee or submit a revised IFP Application, this time setting a deadline of November 3,

2025. 1 See Order, ECF No. 6. Consistent with that Order, on October 23, 2025, Plaintiff filed an

Updated IFP Application. ECF No. 7.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. IFP Applications

A court may waive the filing fees and allow a plaintiff to proceed IFP if he or she is “unable

to pay such fees or give security therefor.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). Whether to allow a plaintiff

to proceed IFP is left to the discretion of the court, based on information submitted by the plaintiff.

Thompson v. United States, 99 Fed. Cl. 21, 24 (2011). Being “unable to pay such fees,” as

contemplated by § 1915(a)(1), “means that paying [the filing] fees would constitute a serious

hardship on the plaintiff, not that such payment would render plaintiff destitute.” Fiebelkorn v.

United States, 77 Fed. Cl. 59, 62 (2007) (recognizing that the burden of demonstrating an inability

to pay is not a heavy one).

B. Dismissal Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 for Failure to State a Claim or Frivolousness

A court “shall dismiss” the case of a plaintiff proceeding IFP “at any time if the court

determines that . . . the action or appeal . . . is frivolous or malicious” or “fails to state a claim on

1 The Court effectively extended Plaintiff’s deadline because it could not confirm that the copy of the Court’s October 1 Order served on Plaintiff via U.S. mail was delivered by October 15, 2025. 3 which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); see, e.g., Taylor v. United States, No.

25-932, 2025 WL 1589283, at *2 (Fed. Cl. June 5, 2025) (dismissing plaintiff’s case as frivolous

and for failing to state a claim); Alvar v. United States, No. 25-1131, 2025 WL 1951847, at *2 n.4

(Fed. Cl. July 16, 2025) (“[t]he frivolity of [p]laintiff’s baseless claim . . . could also provide a

separate ground for dismissal”). A complaint “is frivolous where it lacks an arguable basis either

in law or in fact.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). To avoid dismissal for failure

to state a claim, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a

claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting

Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the

plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw a reasonable inference that the

defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Pupols v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., 413 F.

App’x 232, 234 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (citing Ashcroft, 556 U.S. at 677–78).

C. Tucker Act Jurisdiction

“The Court of Federal Claims is a court of limited jurisdiction.” Marcum LLP v. United

States, 753 F.3d 1380, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

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