Gant v. United States

63 Fed. Cl. 311, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2004 WL 2955926
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedDecember 20, 2004
DocketNo. 03-1911C
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 63 Fed. Cl. 311 (Gant 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
Gant v. United States, 63 Fed. Cl. 311, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2004 WL 2955926 (uscfc 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

CHRISTINE ODELL COOK MILLER, Judge.

Before the court is defendant’s motion to dismiss a pro se plaintiffs complaint seeking [312]*312relief for a variety of wrongs allegedly committed by the military up to, during, and after an honorable discharge on disability from the United States Navy. Among the numerous descriptive paragraphs of grievances that the Court of Federal Claims does not have jurisdiction to consider is a claim entitled “wrongful discharge.” Defendant seeks dismissal of plaintiffs claim on the merits, pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(6), arguing that plaintiff is bound to the disability determination because, at the time of his discharge, he waived review by a formal disability board of a preliminary disability rating. Argument is deemed unnecessary.

BACKGROUND

On August 12, 2003, plaintiff filed a pro se complaint in the Court of Federal Claims seeking relief on six counts.1 The complaint is 55 pages of non-chronological factual allegations, including an attachment of an additional 137 paragraphs2 that are referred to by — and appear to reprise — the preceding allegations. Because of the manner of presentation and ambiguities in the complaint, this court is challenged to extract a coherent claim based on the facts as pleaded. Ultimately, it appears that more than one scenario can be wrested from the allegations, and more than one legal theory ascribable to the claim, as well. The court reviews all of them in order to provide the pro se plaintiffs claims with the consideration to which they are entitled.

Plaintiffs military career began in 1984 when he enlisted in the United States Navy (the “Navy”). He details the history of his military service, but material to his claims before the Court of Federal Claims are the allegations that describe his history of worsening medical symptoms and the treatment by his superiors that allegedly led to his discharge. Plaintiff describes various symptoms, including fatigue, that motivated him to seek medical treatment. As a result, the physicians provided plaintiff with some orders — not identified in the complaint — that his superiors ignored. Plaintiff alleges that he began complaining about this treatment, which precipitated a sequence of events, including retaliatory acts, that led to his wrongful discharge. By issuing plaintiff false adverse fitness reports, denying home awaiting orders, and denying shore duty station, the Navy allegedly executed a scheme with the intent to remove plaintiff from service.

Eventually, the Navy convened a preliminary Physical Evaluation Board (the “PEB”) to review plaintiffs medical history for a determination of fitness for duty. (It is not clear at whose behest the PEB was convened.) In an attachment to the complaint, plaintiff explains that on April 10, 1997, he received via “telecopier” a document entitled “Preliminary Findings of the Physical Evaluation Board Proceedings.” The PEB recommended separation from active duty with severance pay due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for which the PEB assigned a 10% disability rating. Plaintiff also explained in his complaint that the PEB’s discharge recommendation was based on a finding of a temporary disability.

Initially, plaintiff “express[ed] disappoint [sic] of not being 30% because [he] believe[d] based on promulgated literature that such a rating would entitle the plaintiff to Temporary Disability Retirement List [(the “TDRL”)] with the option of continuation of service.” Compl. filed Aug. 12, 2003, If 47. On July 10,1997, per his allegations, plaintiff signed a waiver, which forfeited the right to rebut the findings of a PEB. Plaintiff quotes the waiver:

“From LT(jg) Eric Lionel Gant to President, Physical Evaluation Board Subject: Election of Options for Preliminary/Findings of Unfit for Duty”
[313]*313a. Signature of Initials — “stating I accept the preliminaiy/findings. I understand that it is subject to legal review before becoming final. I waive my right to a formal hearing.”

Id. Attachment ¶ 33.

Plaintiff states that he had no attorney present and had “limited time to consider the findings.” Compl. ¶ 121. Plaintiff otherwise was not informed of a “continuation of service alternative (i.e. ‘inactive reserves’).” Id. ¶ 48. According to the complaint, plaintiff could have been granted “adequate time to recuperate,” which would have allowed him to return to full duty after temporary leave. Id. He “informed his physician of his disagreement with [the] findings[.]” Id. ¶ 120.

Plaintiff was honorably discharged on September 17, 1997, after thirteen years3 of service. Pursuant to his discharge, plaintiff received disability severance pay of $62,089.20. Plaintiff alleges that the Navy “annotated the plaintiffs discharge certificate to reflect a permanent disability instead of a temporary disability[.]” Id. ¶ 62.

The remaining allegations of the complaint describe events that occurred after discharge. The allegations depict a troubling post-discharge experience. In chief, they involve certain treatment plaintiff underwent while confined at Charter Peachford Behavioral Health System of Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to forcing him to undergo experimentation, the Navy also allegedly conspired to silence plaintiff from voicing his complaints. The principal act of conspiracy alleged is the Navy’s conspiracy to prohibit plaintiff from entering into law school. Plaintiff explained that the Navy frustrated his attempt so that, by the time he was learned in the law, the statute of limitations would bar his claims.

Plaintiff has voiced his grievances regarding this alleged treatment to various officials, including numerous members of Congress, the FBI, the CIA, and the President of the United States. He also has filed other civil complaints in other courts, the nature of which is not described.

Plaintiffs complaint seeks relief on the following six counts: (1) wrongful discharge; (2) violation of the Military Whistle Blower Protection Act and DoD Directive 7050.6; (3) violation of the Due Process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; (4) gross negligence; (5) civil fraud; and (6) civil conspiracy under 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (2000).

Count One alleges that the Navy discharged him in retaliation for his complaints regarding inadequate medical care and his superiors’ continuous violation of doctors’ orders. Although plaintiff alleges that he did sign the waiver, thereby accepting the informal PEB’s preliminary findings of a disability rating of 10%, he complains that he was not informed of his alternatives to the discharge. Moreover, plaintiff complains of the Navy’s alleged change of the discharge certificate to reflect a finding of permanent disability, instead of temporary disability, which he understood the original PEB findings to reflect.

Count Two complains of the Navy’s alleged reprisal for his complaints, including certain military assignments, which otherwise he would not have received, certain unidentified acts of harassment causing him duress during the medical evaluation process, the wrongful discharge, and “the Navy’s interference to [sic] plaintiffs post graduate admission acceptance process.” Compl. ¶ 57.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 Fed. Cl. 311, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 336, 2004 WL 2955926, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gant-v-united-states-uscfc-2004.