Cooper v. United States

104 Fed. Cl. 306, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 353, 2012 WL 1134741
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedApril 5, 2012
DocketNo. 11-529
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 104 Fed. Cl. 306 (Cooper 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
Cooper v. United States, 104 Fed. Cl. 306, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 353, 2012 WL 1134741 (uscfc 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE W. MILLER, Judge.

On August 23, 2011, plaintiff, Allen Cooper, filed a complaint in this court asserting a variety of claims against defendant, the United States (docket entry 1). In response, defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”) contending that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear plaintiffs claims and, alternatively, that plaintiff has not asserted a claim upon which relief can be granted (docket entry 4, Oct. 24, 2011). Plaintiff filed a response to defendant’s motion to dismiss on December 2, 2011 (docket entry 7), defendant filed a reply on December 5, 2011 (docket entry 9), and plaintiff filed a supplemental response on December 29, 2011 (docket entry 10). Additionally, on November 18, 2011, plaintiff filed a motion requesting release of a vessel (docket entry 5), to which defendant responded on December 1, 2011 (docket entry 6), and plaintiff replied in support of its motion on December 29, 2011 (docket entry 11).

As discussed below, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion to dismiss and ORDERS that plaintiffs claims, including plaintiffs motion for release of a vessel, shall be DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1), except that the Court FURTHER ORDERS that plaintiffs claims that relate to his criminal trial, conviction, and imprisonment and plaintiffs allegations that the government and its agents acted in an unlawful manner in connection with the prosecution of plaintiff shall be TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631.

I. Background

Plaintiffs complaint and subsequent filings provide little factual information and lack detail concerning plaintiff and his claims. Plaintiff currently resides at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. Compl. Doc. C at 2.1 In 2007, plaintiff was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 1000 kilograms of marijuana. Id. Doc. J at 20.

Plaintiffs complaint is comprised of a series of documents through which he purports to assert a variety of claims against defendant. Plaintiff has organized the documents into a list of lettered “Executed Documents.” See id. Doc. C at 3 (providing a table of contents for the documents constituting plaintiffs complaint). It is difficult to glean the nature and relevance of plaintiffs allegations from these documents. Nonetheless, in an effort to understand plaintiffs claims, the Court describes each document in detail.2

[308]*308 A. Documents A Through H

Document A is a praecipe to the clerk of the Court of Federal Claims directing her to “file all attached documents into the Admiralty Jurisdiction of this Court.” Id. Doc. A at 1. It then demands that the filing fee be waived and requests that the clerk provide plaintiff with a “file stamped copy” of the documents he filed as his complaint. Id.

Document B, dated December 14, 2011, is titled “Letter of Advice: Important Bank and Treasury Routing Instructions.” Id. Doc. B at 1. Signed by plaintiff, this document seems to relate to payments owed to the United States Department of the Treasury and the settlement of an account. Id. Doc. B at 1-2. It outlines a series of steps “required by Regulation to settle the account” and then directs that any notifications, presumably concerning the account, be mailed to plaintiff in Texarkana, Texas. Id.

Document C consists of a “Civil Cover Sheet” listing plaintiff and defendant as the parties to a lawsuit.3 Id. Doc. C at 1. It states that the cause of action concerns “Title 46 U.S.A. Codes, Appendix, Chapter 20 §§ 742 — 749[sic],” describes the claim as an “[u]nlawful action and issuance of Miller Act Commercial Bonds,” and demands fifteen billion dollars. Id. The second page of Document C, entitled “Verification,” contains a statement of plaintiffs competency and veracity. Id. Doc. C at 2. It then notes that plaintiff is imprisoned and could not obtain the services of a notary public. Id. Plaintiff lists the names and signatures of three witnesses to his statement. Id. Doc. C at 2-3.

Document D is a “Letter of Instructions and Memorandum of Law” addressed to Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury. Id. Doc. D at 1. It purports to forward a bond to be used in satisfaction of the “entire amounts stated on the claims Account No. 5:06-CR-00122-S-008,” id, which is the docket number of plaintiffs criminal case. See id. Doc. J at 20. It then contains a list of instructions aimed at discharging a debt. See id. Doc. D at 2-3. The Memorandum of Law accompanying the letter briefly discusses House Joint Resolution 192 of 1933 and asserts that plaintiff is acting in compliance with certain regulations. Id. Doc. D at 3-4. It is signed by plaintiff. Id. Doc. D at 4.

Document E, dated December 14, 2010, is entitled “Uncitral Certified Promissory Note.” Id. Doc. E at 1. It states that it is “tendered by the Undersigned Respondent ALLEN COOPER ... as full satisfaction of an alleged debt claimed and allegedly owed in favor of’ the United States. Id. It states that the amount due is thirty billion dollars and that plaintiff, identified in the document as the “maker,” is “discharged from liability on this alleged account” as a result the note’s transmission. Id. Doc. E at 1-2.

Document F is a “Letter of Undertaking or Stipulation.” Id. Doc. F at 1. In it, plaintiff states that he is “Authorized Representative, Contributing Beneficiary, Principal, Trustor, Flesh and Blood Man, upon the free soil of the Georgia Republic Land” and that he is “not an ens legis and can not communicate with any/all artificial entities nor artificial persons or fictions of law, such as UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” Id. (emphasis omitted). Plaintiff then states that he “undertake[s] to act as surety, to pledge and provide private bond in the amount of alleged damages caused in suit # 5:05-CR-00122-S-088/L-06-122 and any/ all associated suit numbers.” Id. (emphasis omitted). The letter then states that plaintiff is “h[e]ld[ ] ... harmless “against any and all claims made against Defendant ALLEN COOPER.” Id. The remainder of the document contains language suggesting that plaintiff agrees to satisfy the debt of “ALLEN COOPER” resulting from any judgment against “ALLEN COOPER.” Id. Doc. F at 1-3.

Documents G and H are nearly identical in substance, though each references a different bond number. See id. Doc. G; id. Doc. H. They contain the ease caption “Allen Cooper vs. United States of America” and are designated as being filed “in Admiralty.” Id. Doc. [309]*309G at 1; id. Doc. H at 1. In the documents, plaintiff purports to underwrite “any and all obligations of performance/loss/costs sustained by the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the respectful citizens thereof’ regarding his criminal ease and cases associated with it. Id. Doc. G at 1 (emphasis omitted); id. Doc. H at 1 (emphasis omitted).

B. Document I

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Bluebook (online)
104 Fed. Cl. 306, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 353, 2012 WL 1134741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-v-united-states-uscfc-2012.