Crawford v. United States

53 Fed. Cl. 191, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 158, 2002 WL 1477206
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJuly 9, 2002
DocketNo. 01-487 C
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 53 Fed. Cl. 191 (Crawford 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
Crawford v. United States, 53 Fed. Cl. 191, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 158, 2002 WL 1477206 (uscfc 2002).

Opinion

[192]*192 OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Judge.

Before the court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. For the following reasons, defendant’s motion is GRANTED.

I. Background

Plaintiff David E. Crawford is a warrant officer in the United States Navy with more than 20 years of active service. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Def.’s Mot.) at 1; Complaint (Compl.) at Enclosure 1 (Plaintiffs Request for Voluntary Retirement dated June 14, 2001). Plaintiff was convicted by general court-martial of several counts of sexual misconduct with a child under the age of 16 years and was sentenced by a military judge on September 7, 2000 to four years confinement, dismissal from the Navy, and forfeiture of all pays and allowances.2 Def.’s Mot. at 3. See also Plaintiffs Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Pl.’s Resp.) at 12, 14, and 15. On June 14, 2001, plaintiff submitted to the Secretary of the Navy a request for voluntary retirement and transfer to the reserve fleet. Compl. at Enclosure 1. Under cover of a letter dated August 8, 2001, the Chief of Naval Personnel returned to plaintiff his retirement request “without consideration due to the pending punitive discharge awarded you at court-martial.” Compl. at Enclosure 4; PL’s Resp. at 1. In the cover letter, the Chief of Naval Personnel also informed plaintiff that “consideration of your retirement request is not appropriate at this time, as your dismissal from naval service has not completed appellate review. Should the dismissal awarded at your court-martial not be approved, you are invited to resubmit your voluntary re[t]irement request.” Compl. at Enclosure 4.

On August 21, 2001, plaintiff filed suit in this court. The relief plaintiff seeks is an order to the Secretary of the Navy to retire plaintiff with full benefits on the basis of 20 years of honorable military service. Complaint (Compl.) ¶¶ 1, 5, 23; Def.’s Mot. at 3. Defendant now moves to dismiss on the ground that plaintiffs claim is premature because no final agency action has been taken. Def.’s Mot. at 1. Alternatively, defendant argues that none of the theories of recovery on which plaintiff bases his claim mandates compensation by the government. Id. at 2.

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Judicial Review

Defendant bases its motion to dismiss on Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6)3 of the Court of Federal Claims (RCFC). Rule 12(b)(1) provides for dismissal based on the “lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter.” RCFC 12(b)(1). Whether a court possesses subject matter jurisdiction over a claim depends upon the “court’s general power to adjudicate in specific areas of substantive law.” Palmer v. United States, 168 F.3d 1310, 1313 (Fed.Cir.1999). Rule 12(b)(6) provides for dismissal based on the “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” RCFC 12(b)(6). Rule 12(b)[(6)] addresses “the question of whether in a specific case a court is able to exercise its general power with regard to the facts peculiar to the specific claim.” Palmer, 168 F.3d at 1313. Dismissal by this court under 12(b)[(6)] constitutes an adjudication on the merits of a claim. Maniere v. United States, 31 Fed.Cl. 410, 419 (1994).

The Supreme Court has stated that in weighing evidence to evaluate a motion to dismiss, “whether on the ground of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter or for failure to state a cause of action, the allegations of the complaint should be construed favorably to the pleader.” Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Hamlet v. United States, [193]*193873 F.2d 1414, 1416 (Fed.Cir.1989); LaMirage, Inc. v. United States, 44 Fed.Cl. 192, 196 (1999). In rendering a decision on a motion to dismiss, the court must presume that undisputed factual allegations in the complaint are true. Miree v. DeKalb County, 433 U.S. 25, 27 n. 2, 97 S.Ct. 2490, 53 L.Ed.2d 557 (1977); Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exch. Serv., 846 F.2d 746, 747 (Fed.Cir.1988); LaMirage, Inc., 44 Fed.Cl. at 196.

B. Ripeness of Plaintiffs Claim

Defendant argues that plaintiffs claim is premature because his dismissal from the Navy, as part of the sentence imposed by plaintiffs court-martial, is not final. See Def.’s Mot. at 7. Because, in defendant’s view, “[a]n approved dismissal bears directly upon a [service member’s] eligibility for retirement,” defendant argues that plaintiffs appeal of his court-martial is not complete. Id. at 5-6. Defendant adds that, consistent with paragraph 4.e of Secretary of the Navy Instruction (SECNAVINST) 1811.3M,4 the Navy has deferred its consideration of plaintiffs retirement request pending final resolution of plaintiffs criminal case. Id.

Plaintiff interprets the same naval instruction differently, contending that SECNA-VINST 1811.3M, paragraph 4.e cannot be used to deny his retirement pay request because “all charges against [him] have been disposed of.” Pl.’s Resp. at 2. Rather, plaintiff argues, paragraph 10(j) of SECNA-VINST 1811.3M provides that a court-martial conviction may be used only to make a retirement grade determination. Pl.’s Resp. at 2. See also Compl. at Enclosure 2.

To determine whether all charges against plaintiff “have been disposed of,” as contemplated by paragraph 4.e of SECNAVINST 1811.3M, the court looks to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for guidance. The UCMJ instructs that “[i]f a [court-martial] sentence extends to ... dismissal ... and if the right of the accused to appellate review is not waived, and an appeal is not withdrawn ... that part of the sentence extending to ... dismissal ... may not be executed until there is a final judgment as to the legality of the proceedings....” 10 U.S.C. § 871(c)(1) (emphasis added). The UCMJ specifies that judgment as to the legality of the proceedings is final when a Court of Criminal Appeals has completed its review of the proceedings and no further review will occur.5 10 U.S.C. § 871(c)(1).

Defendant points out, and plaintiff does not dispute, that “[plaintiffs] criminal conviction and sentence are properly docketed before the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals” awaiting disposition. Def.’s Mot. at 7-8; Pl.’s Resp. at 2. Indeed, plaintiff acknowledges in his respon[194]*194sive briefing that “the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Supreme Court, and the Secretary of the Navy could set aside his dismissal.” Pl.’s Resp. at 2.

Pending appeal of plaintiffs conviction and sentence by court-martial, no final judgment exists regarding his dismissal. See 10 U.S.C. § 871.

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Bluebook (online)
53 Fed. Cl. 191, 2002 U.S. Claims LEXIS 158, 2002 WL 1477206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crawford-v-united-states-uscfc-2002.