Crocker v. United States

37 Fed. Cl. 191, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1997 WL 21276
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJanuary 15, 1997
DocketNo. 95-696C
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 37 Fed. Cl. 191 (Crocker 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
Crocker v. United States, 37 Fed. Cl. 191, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1997 WL 21276 (uscfc 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

This case presents the question of whether the United States Court of Federal Claims may hear a claim that personal property was unlawfully seized and forfeited. The plaintiff is proceeding pro se. The matter is presently before the court on the defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Because recent decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and of this court suggest that jurisdiction does attach, a telephonic conference was held November 1, 1996, in which the court asked for additional briefing. Further oral argument is deemed unnecessary, For the reasons stated herein, defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted.

Background1

The Sheriffs Department of Scott County, Mississippi executed a search warrant at the residence of plaintiff, Annie Lou Crocker, and her husband, Harold Crocker. The warrant was obtained upon information that stolen property was being traded for controlled substances at their residence. Harold Crocker was arrested and charged with possession of controlled substances. During the execution of the search warrant, the Sheriffs department seized certain property found at the residence. This property included a considerable sum of United States currency and savings bonds, which plaintiff alleges belong to her.2

Pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801, 881(a)(6) (1994), the Sheriffs department turned the seized property over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for forfeiture proceedings. In the typical circumstance, the DEA would [194]*194then provide notice of forfeiture proceedings to interested parties by publishing such notices for three consecutive weeks in a “newspaper of general circulation.” 21 C.F.R. § 1316.75 (1996). This notice informs the interested parties that claims of ownership must be filed with the DEA within twenty days of the date of first publication of the notice. Id. § 1316.75(b)(3). The filing of such a claim has the effect of suspending the administrative forfeiture. Upon receipt of a claim, the agency transfers the matter to the appropriate office of the United States Attorney, which may then institute judicial forfeiture proceedings in the district court. Id. § 1316.76(a). If no claims of ownership are filed within the twenty-day notice period, the agency administratively forfeits the property to the United States. Id. § 1316.77(a).

In the present ease, it is apparently undisputed that the DEA published a notice and that, at some point, the plaintiff filed a claim of ownership of the property. The DEA treated the claim as untimely filed, however, and proceeded to administratively forfeit the seized property to the United States. Upon the DEA’s rejection of her claim of ownership, the plaintiff instituted the present action seeking the return of her alleged property or compensation for its value.

Discussion

The United States Court of Federal Claims may only render decisions in cases against the Government where Congress has specifically and unambiguously waived sovereign immunity and provided for subject matter jurisdiction in the court. See United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206, 212, 103 S.Ct. 2961, 2965, 77 L.Ed.2d 580 (1983); United States v. King, 395 U.S. 1, 4, 89 S.Ct. 1501, 1502-03, 23 L.Ed.2d 52 (1969). The Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (1994), waives the Government’s traditional immunity from suit, and gives the Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction to hear claims against the Government in a limited set of circumstances. Such claims include those “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, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort.” Id. § 1491(a)(1).

Although the Tucker Act operates as a waiver of sovereign immunity, it is well-settled that the Act “does not create any substantive right enforceable against the United States for money damages____ The Act merely confers jurisdiction in the event that a substantive right to sue the Government already exists.” Berry v. United States, 27 Fed.Cl. 96,100 (1992) (citing United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, 398, 96 S.Ct. 948, 953, 47 L.Ed.2d 114 (1976)). See also Eastport S.S. Corp. v. United States, 178 Ct.Cl. 599, 605-07, 372 F.2d 1002, 1007-09 (1967); Heagy v. United States, 12 Cl.Ct. 694, 697 (1987), aff'd, 848 F.2d 1244 (Fed.Cir. 1988). For jurisdiction to attach in this court, there must be some other statute, regulation, or constitutional provision that specifically anticipates the allowance of money damages. Berry, 27 Fed.Cl. at 100 (citing Mobin v. United States, 22 Cl.Ct. 331, 333-34 (1991)).

The plaintiff’s underlying argument in this case is that she followed the DEA’s administrative procedures by filing her claim of ownership within the allotted time and that she was thus improperly denied the right to a judicial disposition as to the ownership of the property in question. In essence, her claim is that the DEA failed to follow procedures established by the applicable statute and regulations. She contends that this failure results in violation of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions. The constitutional provisions invoked are the Due Process and Takings Clauses of the Fifth Amendment and the unreasonable search and seizure provisions of the Fourth Amendment. The statutory and procedural grounds raised are the notice provisions of the forfeiture statute and attendant regulations. For the following reasons the court concludes that, as to most of her complaint, the court lacks jurisdiction to proceed. As to the balance, her complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

1. Due Process and Unreasonable Search and Seizure Claims

It is settled that the remedy for violations of the Due Process Clause of the [195]*195Fifth Amendment or the Search and Seizure Clause of the Fourth Amendment is not the payment of money damages. Brown v. United States, 35 Fed.Cl. 258, 266 (1996) (Fourth Amendment) (citing Murray v. United States, 817 F.2d 1580, 1582-83 (Fed.Cir. 1987); Earnest v. United States, 33 Fed.Cl. 341, 344 (1995)); LeBlanc v. United States, 50 F.3d 1025, 1028 (Fed.Cir.1995) (Due Process); Collins v. United States, 67 F.3d 284, 288 (Fed.Cir.1995) (Due Process); Heagy, 12 Cl.Ct. at 698 (Due Process) (citing Montalvo v. United States, 231 Ct.Cl. 980, 982-83,1982 WL 25825 (1982);

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Bluebook (online)
37 Fed. Cl. 191, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1997 WL 21276, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crocker-v-united-states-uscfc-1997.