Dickerson v. United States

89 Ct. Cl. 520, 1939 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 159, 1939 WL 4302
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedNovember 6, 1939
DocketNo. 44263
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 89 Ct. Cl. 520 (Dickerson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dickerson v. United States, 89 Ct. Cl. 520, 1939 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 159, 1939 WL 4302 (cc 1939).

Opinion

Williams, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff is a private in the United States Army where he has served as an enlisted man for a period of more than 20 years. On July 21, 1938, he was honorably discharged from a three-year term of enlistment, and on July 22, 1938, reenlisted for a period of three years in the grade of private.

Section 9 of the basic pay act of June 10, 1922, 42 Stat. 625, 629; U. S. C. Title 10, Sec. 633, provides:

On and after July 1, 1922, an enlistment allowance equal to $50, multiplied by the number of years served in the enlistment period from which he has last been discharged, shall be paid to every honorably discharged enlisted man of the first three grades who reenlists within a period of three months from the date of his discharge, and an enlistment allowance of $25, multi[522]*522plied by the number of years served in the enlistment period from which he has last been discharged, shall be paid to every honorably, discharged enlisted man of the other grades who reenlists within a period of three months from the date of his discharge.

By virtue of this provision of law plaintiff upon his reenlistment on July 22, 1938, became entitled to receive as a reenlistment allowance the sum of $75. He has not been paid this reenlistment allowance and is entitled to recover that amount in this suit if this statute was in effect at the time of his reenlistment.

The act of August 4, 1854, section 2, 10 Stat. 575, provided a reenlistment allowance for enlisted men of the Army who reenlisted within one month after an honorable discharge from a previous enlistment. Subsequent acts of Congress, prior to the act of June 10, 1922, continued the payment of this reenlistment allowance in various forms. Following the passage of the act of June 10, 1922, all men reenlisting in the Army within three months from the date of their honorable discharge from preceding enlistments were paid reenlistment allowances provided in that act until after July 1, 1933, upon which date such payments were suspended under the provisions of section 18 of the act of March 3, 1933, Treasury-Post Office Department Appropriation Act, 47 Stat. 1489, 1519, which reads:

Sec. 18. So much of sections 9 and 10 of the Act entitled “An Act to readjust the pay and allowances of the commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Public Health Service,” approved June 10, 1922 (U. S. C. Title 37, secs. 13 and 16), as provides for the payment of enlistment allowance to enlisted men for reenlistment within a period of three months from date of discharge is hereby suspended as to reenlistments made during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1934.

Section 24 of the Act of March 28, 1934, 48 Stat. 509, 523, continued in the same language the suspension for the fiscal year 1935.

The suspension was further continued in the same language for the fiscal year 1936 by the Act of May 14, 1935, [523]*523the Treasury-Post Office Department Appropriation Act, 49 Stat. 218, 226.

The suspension was last invoked for the fiscal year '1937 by the Treasury-Post Office Department Appropriation Act of June 23, 1936, 49 Stat. 1827, 1837, which employed the same language.

Manifestly these acts of Congress suspending the operations of section 9 of the basic pay act of June 10, 1922, for the fiscal years 1933-37, did not operate as a repeal of that Act and was not intended by Congress to do so. The basic act remained unchanged and without modification as it had always stood.

For the fiscal yéars 1938 and 1939, Congress did not continue the suspension of the provisions of the 1922 act in respect to the payment of the reenlistment allowance involved but made unavailable for the payment of such allowance all appropriations enacted for these years. For the fiscal year 1939 it was provided in section 402 of Public Resolution No. 122, approved June 21, 1938, 52 Stat. 809j 818, that:

* * * no part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939, shall be available for the payment of enlistment allowance to enlisted men for reenlistment within a period of three months from date of discharge as to reenlistments made during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939, notwithstanding the applicable provisions of sections 9 and 10 of the Act entitled “An Act to readjust the pay and allowances of the commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Public Health Service,” approved June 10, 1922 (37 U. S. C. 13, 16).

Similar provision was made in the act of May 28, 1937, 50 Stat. 213, 232, in respect to the fiscal year 1938.

The defendant contends that it was the intention of Congress to suspend the operation of the permanent law- for the payment of the enlistment allowances for the fiscal years ending- June 30, 1938, and June 30, 1939, and says in the brief that “the later two Acts were so clear as to be express legislation against the payment- of reenlistment allowances.”

[524]*524We cannot- agree with the defendant in this contention. - The language found in these provisos contains no reference to the suspension of the basic statute. Congress in dealing with this question for the fiscal years preceding 1938 had specifically and in plain terms stated' that the provision in the basic pay act for an allowance for reenlistment during those years was suspended. It must be assumed that had Congress intended to continue such suspension for the fiscal' years 1938 and 1939 it would have employed the same language, or language equally plain and unequivocal. The deliberate selection of language so different from that used in the preceding Acts indicates that a change of law was intended and gives rise to a definite presumption that it was the intention of Congress to change from and not to continue the suspension which had previously existed for the preceding years. United States v. Fisher, 2 Cranch 358, 1 Dallas 421; Pirie v. Chicago Title and Trust Co., 182 U. S. 438; Crawford v. Burke, 195 U. S. 176; Brewster v. Gage, 280 U. S. 327.

Following the enactment of the statute of June 10, 1922, Congress in the various appropriation acts for subsequent years made no appropriation in a designated amount for the payment of the reenlistment allowance. However, the funds appropriated for the “Pay, and so forth, of the Army” in respective appropriation acts were regarded as available for such payment and prior to June 30, 1933, payment had regularly been made out of such appropriations without question. The act of June 10, 1922, is. a part of the permanent pay legislation of the Army. This Act, being neither suspended for the fiscal year 1939 nor modified in any way, was in full force and effect at the time of plaintiff’s reenlistment. Plaintiff’s legal .right to the reenlistment allowance therefore accrued to him upon the date of his reeiilistment.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Blakely v. United States
92 Ct. Cl. 204 (Court of Claims, 1940)
Strauss v. United States
92 Ct. Cl. 546 (Court of Claims, 1940)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 Ct. Cl. 520, 1939 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 159, 1939 WL 4302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickerson-v-united-states-cc-1939.