Dingley v. United States

169 Ct. Cl. 664, 1965 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 71, 1965 WL 8405
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 12, 1965
DocketNo. 424-54
StatusPublished

This text of 169 Ct. Cl. 664 (Dingley 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
Dingley v. United States, 169 Ct. Cl. 664, 1965 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 71, 1965 WL 8405 (cc 1965).

Opinion

Laramore, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, a retired captain in the U.S. Naval Deserve, sues to recover active duty pay and allowances allegedly due him for certain periods commencing December 27,1949 and ending September 29, 1950, while receiving treatment in the Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, under the provisions of section 4 of the Naval Aviation Personnel Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 864, as amended by section 1, P.L. 108, 63 Stat. 201, 34 U.S.C. § 855c-l (1952 Ed.), which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

All officers, nurses, warrant officers, and enlisted men of the United States Naval Reserve or United States Marine Corps Reserve, who—
❖ * * * ❖
(2) if called or ordered by the Federal Government to active naval or military service or to perform active [666]*666•duty for training or inactive-duty training for any period of time, suffer disability or death in line of duty from injury while so employed; shall be deemed to have been in the active naval service during such period, and they * * * shall be in all respects entitled to receive the same pensions, compensation, death gratuity, retirement pay, hospital benefits, and pay and. allowances as are now or may hereafter be provided by law or regulation for officers, warrant officers, nurses, and enlisted men of corresponding grades and length, of service of the Regular Navy or Marine Corps: *. *

Two questions are involved in this case: (1) did plaintiff suffer an injury while on active duty; (2) is recovery barred by reason of the provisions of section 6 of the Act of May 10, 1916, 39 Stat. 120,' as amended August 29, 1916, 39 Stat. 582, which provides in pertinent part, as foliows:

That unless otherwise specificially authorized by law, ho money appropriated by this or any other'Act shall be available for payment to any person receiving more than • one salary when- the combined .amount of said salaries exceeds the sum of $2,000 per annum; * * *.

Turning first to the question whether or not plaintiff is barred . from recovery under the provisions of section 6, supra, plaintiff argues that dual compensation is specifically authorized in all cases similar to that of plaintiff and cites in support thereof section.4 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1175, 1176, which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

* * * And provided further, That no existing law shall be construed to prevent any member of the Naval Reserve from accepting employment in any civil branch of the-public, service nor from receiving, the pay and allowances incident to such employment in addition to any pay and allowances to which he may be entitled under the" provisions ,of this Act, nor as prohibiting him from practicing his civilian profession or occupation before or in connection with any department of the Federal Government.

This court, in Tanner et al. v. United States, 129 Ct. Cl. 792, 125 F. Supp. 240 (1954), cert. denied, 350 U.S. 842, in discussing the limited coverage of section 4 of the Naval Reserve Act, supra, stated in part, as follows:

[667]*667Section 4 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1176, contained, with, reference to the Naval Reserve,language similar to that of Section 1(b) of the 1947 Act. It was, however, limited in a respect, the significance of which appears hereinafter.
H; :¡í ‡ ‡ $
* * * We have said above that there was an important difference between Section 4 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, and Section 1(b) of the 1947 Act here in question, which applied.to Reserve Officers of the Army. Section 4 of the 1938 Act said that no existing law should be construed to prevent a member of the Naval Reserve from holding a civilian position with the Government and'receiving the pay of that position in addition to any pay and allowances to which he might be entitled “under the provisions of this Act,” i.e., the 1938 Act. .The exemption from Section 212 was therefore not applicable to pay and allowances . of a Reserve officer granted by legislation other than the 1938 Act. [pp. 796-797]

Again this court in Broyderick, et al. v. United States, 140 Ct. Cl. 427 (1957), in discussing the same question as recited above, stated in part, as follows:

- Section 4 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1176, -similar in text to the statute just’ quoted, but applicable to members of the Naval Reserve, exempted, from the Economy Act only pay and allowances to which the officer “may be entitled under th¿ provisions of this Act.” Small does not receive- his retired pay pursuant to the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, but pursuant to the Act of February 21,1946, 60 Stat. 26: He is not, therefore, covered by the exempting language of - the 1938 Act. In Tanner v. United States, supra, there is a considerable discussion of the limited coverage of section 4 of the Naval Reserve Act of' 1938.
. In the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952,66 Stat. 481, the language of the 1947 Act exempting members of the Officers’ Reserve Corps [Army] from the ■ dual compensation restriction, was broadened by section 804(a), effective January 1,1953, to exempt “any member of the reserve' components of the Armed Forces.” -The government concedes that Small was entitled to the benefit of that statute from the effective date of section 804(a), January 1, 1953. He is not entitled to recover for the period of his civilian employment prior to January 1, 1953. * * * [pp. 432-433]

[668]*668In this case it is clear that Captain Dingley did not receive his pay under the provisions of the 1988 Act, sufra, but pursuant to the Naval Aviation Personnel Act of 1940, sufra. Consequently, section 4 of the 1938 Act has no application to plaintiff.

Furthermore, during the period in question in this case, there was in existence no statute exempting plaintiff from the terms of section 6 of the Act of May 10,1916, as amended, sufra,1 which is the Act barring payment of more than one salary to any person when the combined salaries exceed $2,-000 per annum. In this case the facts show that during the periods in question Captain Dingley was a civilian employee of the U.S. Government with a salary in excess of $2,000 per year.

Plaintiff’s counsel, in oral argument, asked and was granted permission to supply the court with the legislative history of P.L. 108, supra, stating that said legislative history shows Congress never intended that plaintiff be saddled with the Economy Act (section 6 of the Act of May 10, 1916, as amended, supra).

He has supplied the complete legislative history of the Act which is long and voluminous. He has pointed to no portion which would give comfort t¡o this plaintiff and we find none.

Consequently, we conclude that section 6 of the Act of May 10, 1916, as amended, supra, bars any recovery by plaintiff.

Defendant has filed a counterclaim in the amount of $50 for food rations from the National Naval Medical Center, which is allegedly owing and unpaid by plaintiff.

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Related

Tanner v. United States
125 F. Supp. 240 (Court of Claims, 1954)
Broyderick v. United States
156 F. Supp. 947 (Court of Claims, 1957)

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Bluebook (online)
169 Ct. Cl. 664, 1965 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 71, 1965 WL 8405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dingley-v-united-states-cc-1965.