Goist v. United States

85 Fed. Cl. 726, 2009 WL 361665
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedFebruary 12, 2009
DocketNo. 08-634C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 85 Fed. Cl. 726 (Goist 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
Goist v. United States, 85 Fed. Cl. 726, 2009 WL 361665 (uscfc 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

MARGARET M. SWEENEY, Judge.

Before the court in the above-captioned case are defendant’s motion for summary dismissal of plaintiffs complaint and defendant’s motion to quash plaintiffs subpoena. In his pro se complaint,1 plaintiff, in essence, alleges that United States failed to discharge a debt owed to it by plaintiff.2 For the reasons set forth below, the court grants defendant’s motion for summary dismissal, dismissing plaintiffs complaint for lack of jurisdiction. The court further finds that the complaint filed by plaintiff, a serial litigant, is frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), a finding that constitutes plaintiffs third “strike” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Finally, the court grants defendant’s motion to quash.

I. BACKGROUND3

On November 7, 2001, plaintiff was convicted on two counts of unarmed bank robbery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2113(a) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (“Northern District of Ohio”).4 Goist, 59 Fed.Appx. at 757-58; 2000 Docket. His sentence included, among other things, a term of imprisonment of 240 [730]*730months in federal custody.5 2000 Docket. Plaintiff appealed his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (“Sixth Circuit”), which affirmed the judgment of the Northern District of Ohio. Goist, 59 Fed.Appx. at 758, 763. Shortly thereafter, on May 29, 2003, plaintiff filed a motion in the Northern District of Ohio pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence, which the Northern District of Ohio treated as a separate case. See 2000 Docket; 2003 Docket. The Northern District of Ohio denied plaintiffs motion on December 30, 2003, and certified, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), “that an appeal from this decision would be frivolous and could not be taken in good faith and there is no basis upon which to issue a certificate of appealability.” 2003 Docket. Plaintiff unsuccessfully appealed the Northern District of Ofiio’s refusal to issue a certificate of appealability to the Sixth Circuit. Id. Dissatisfied with the Sixth Circuit’s ruling, plaintiff then sought relief from the United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”), which denied his petition for writ of certiorari on June 13, 2005. Goist v. United States, 545 U.S. 1122, 125 S.Ct. 2926, 162 L.Ed.2d 309 (2005) (mem,). Plaintiff remains incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Florida. Compl. It 2.

On August 15, 2005, plaintiff filed, in his original federal criminal case, a Motion for Return and Release of Property Pursuant to Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 41(g) and Request for Remedy Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8(c).6 2000 Docket. In that motion, plaintiff stated that he was acting as the “Authorized Representative,” “Attorney-in-Fact,” and “Third Party Intervenor” for “PAUL BENJAMIN GOIST(c)1984,”7 and requested, as the “holder-in-due-course” for “Case/Account number(s) # 4:00-cr-00489 KMO ALL,”8 that the court use his “Exemption Number” to “elos[e]” and “settle[ ]” his ease. Id. Plaintiff then described the property to be returned to him as three bonds, which he identified as “GSA SF 273, GSA SF 274 and GSA SF 275.”9 Id. Plaintiff served a copy of this motion on Gary D. Arbeznik, an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) involved with his case. Id. The Northern District of Ohio denied plaintiffs motion on August 24, 2005, without a written order. Id.

Subsequently, on October 19, 2005, undeterred by the Supreme Court’s denial of his petition for writ of certiorari four months earlier, plaintiff filed five documents in his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 case. 2003 Docket. These documents included: (1) Notice of Acceptance, Standing and Status: Request for Remedy; (2) Acceptance for Value; (3) Notice of Acceptance for Value and Exemption From Levy; (4) Request Waiver of Fees, Fine and Cost / Notice of Waiver of Protest; and (5) Bond.10 Id. In the first of these documents, [731]*731plaintiff indicated that, as the “Authorized Representative,” he was “operat[ing] ... as a living principle [sic], sentient, spiritually autonomous being under unlimited commercial liability and with full standing in law, for and on behalf of PAUL BENJAMIN GOIST(C)1984, the DEBTOR in this matter.” 11 Id. He further indicated that he had “Accepted for Value” all of the complaints, warrants, detainers, charging documents, and judgments connected to the case, and was returning said documents to AUSA Arbeznik in an effort “to expedite the process of reaching settlement and closure” in his case. Id. Moreover, plaintiff referred to the concurrently filed bond in the following manner:

A Court BOND executed by the Authorized Representative, as CREDITOR in this matter, is filed concurrently herewith for the purposes of BONDING re CASE and diseharginfg] ALL obligations re CASE on the “substance side,” through use of the Authorized Representative Priority Exemption Number by the Respondents to COMMAND the MEMORY of Employer Identification Number ... and charge the same to the DEBTORS ORDER or to your ORDER.

Id. As a remedy, plaintiff requested that he “be provided with NOTICE OF DISCHARGE of the Obligation in full, a statement of zero (0) balance on the account, closing of the account on the matter and closing of the account re case within ten (10) days of the filing of this notice.” Id.

In the second of the five documents plaintiff filed on October 19, 2005, Acceptance for Value, plaintiff provided:

Please take notice that the DEBTOR and SECURED PARTY have entered into a Priority Security Agreement dated June 13, 2005, the Department of Licensing and [Professions Division, Spokane County[,] Washington and file ... # 2005-130-7654-1 and 1099654 May 09, 2005 and as also reflected in LONG COUNTY, STATE OF GEORGIA, File ... # 091-2005-102, August 08, 2005.12 ...
This Notification is being given in accordance with the provisions of Section § 9-305 of the UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE.... 13

Id. (footnotes added). Plaintiff served a copy of this document on AUSA Arbeznik. Id.

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

Related

Jumah v. United States
90 Fed. Cl. 603 (Federal Claims, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
85 Fed. Cl. 726, 2009 WL 361665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goist-v-united-states-uscfc-2009.