Hicks v. United States

118 Fed. Cl. 76, 2014 U.S. Claims LEXIS 883, 2014 WL 4260790
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedAugust 29, 2014
DocketNo. 14-193 C
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 118 Fed. Cl. 76 (Hicks 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
Hicks v. United States, 118 Fed. Cl. 76, 2014 U.S. Claims LEXIS 883, 2014 WL 4260790 (uscfc 2014).

Opinion

Pro Se; Rule 12(b)(1); Lack of Jurisdiction; Rule 12(b)(6); Failure to State a Claim; Tort Claims; Punitive Damages; Informant Reward; Criminal Penalties; Impeachment; Fifth & Sixth Amendments; Taking; Frivolousness, 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Interest; Attorneys’ Fees; Travel Expenses; Costs

OPINION AND ORDER

CAMPBELL-SMITH, Chief Judge

Plaintiff Anthony R. Hicks, pro se, has filed a 128-page Complaint against the federal government comprised of allegations interspersed with copies of correspondence, federal statutes, and other papers. Compl., Mar. 7, 2014, Dkt. No. 1 (pagination added). Mr. Hicks complains that the government has not paid his seventeen million dollar ($17M) demand, id. at 2, 5, 8, 55-56, 76, 102, 122, 124, that he previously sought in an earlier case before this court, Hicks v. United States, No. 10-793C (Block, J.), for tort-based injuries allegedly sustained in an altercation with a South Carolina police detective, see Compl. at 87-88, 90-91, 96-97.

Mr. Hicks also accuses the government— particularly, the President, the Attorney General, and the Acting Associate Attorney General — of violating a myriad of federal criminal laws based on the government’s: (i) refusal to recognize any merit in Mr. Hicks’ claims; and (ii) supposed role in convincing earlier courts to dismiss those claims for lack of jurisdiction. See id. at 5-7, 67, 84, 94, 121-128 (alleging, inter alia, obstruction of justice, improperly influencing official proceedings, fraud, deceit, false statements, and perjury). He further asserts that the government’s failure to pay his original demand amounts to a failure to enforce the law, embezzlement, theft, receipt of stolen property, property destruction and other criminal offenses. See id. at 2, 7-8, 64, 67, 84,121-128. Plaintiff variously demands the officials’ impeachment, arrest, jail time, and capital punishment, id. at 1-2, 4-6, 58, 61, 64, 67, 126-28, and up to $157 million ($157M) as an “informant reward” or for other unspecified reasons, id. at 2, 8, 55. ’ Lastly, he seeks interest on his $17M demand,, id at 56-57, 76, 80, 122, plus anticipated travel expenses between $7,000-$ 10,000 and attorneys’ fees for the present litigation, id. at 8-9, 55, 80.

The government has moved to dismiss Mr. Hicks’ Complaint for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to state claims under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC or Rule), as well as for frivolity under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) (2012). Def.’s Mot. Dismiss, Apr. 4, 2014, Dkt. No. 5. The court permitted Mr. Hicks to file a late response to the motion, see Order, Aug. 18, 2014, Dkt. No. 11 (lodging Pl.’s Resp., Aug. 14, 2014, Dkt. No. 8), to which defendant has replied, see Def.’s Reply, Aug. 15, 2014, Dkt. No. 10.

The court now considers the parties’ motion, response,' and reply, plaintiffs Complaint and its exhibits, as well as — where noted — a dispositive opinion written by Judge Block, which is set forth in Hicks v. United States, No. 10-793C, 2011 WL 3319563 (Fed.Cl. Aug. 1, 2011) (Hicks I).

[80]*80For the reasons that follow, the court GRANTS defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and DISMISSES plaintiffs Complaint in its entirety.

I. Discussion

A. The Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Almost All of Plaintiffs Claims

“Jurisdiction must be established as a threshold matter before the court may proceed with the merits of this or any other action.” OTI America. Inc. v. United States, 68 Fed.Cl. 108, 113 (2005) (citing Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 88-89, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 1009-10, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998): accord PODS. Inc. v. Porta Stor, Inc., 484 F.3d 1359, 1365 (Fed.Cir.2007). The Tucker Act is the primary source of jurisdiction for this court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (2012) (Tucker Act); Taylor v. United States, 303 F.3d 1357, 1359 (Fed.Cir.2002). It vests the court with jurisdiction over any suit against the United States for money damages “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 ... in cases not sounding in tort.” 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1). The Tucker Act, however, does not create any substantive rights and, therefore, is insufficient to confer jurisdiction on its own. Jan’s Helicopter Serv., Inc. v. Fed. Aviation Admin., 525 F.3d 1299, 1306 (Fed.Cir.2008) (quoting Fisher v. United States, 402 F.3d 1167, 1172 (Fed.Cir.2005) (en banc)). A plaintiff must identify a separate source of law that creates a right to money damages for his or her claim. Id.; Holmes v. United States, 657 F.3d 1303, 1309 (Fed.Cir.2011) (explaining that the Tucker Act “is a jurisdictional provision ‘that operate^] to waive sovereign immunity for claims [against the United States] premised on other sources of law (e.g., statutes or contracts’”) (quoting United States v. Navajo Nation, 556 U.S. 287, 290, 129 S.Ct. 1547, 1551, 173 L.Ed.2d 429 (2009)). “Not every claim invoking the Constitution, a federal statute, or a regulation is cognizable under the Tucker Act.” United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206, 216, 103 S.Ct. 2961, 2967-68, 77 L.Ed.2d 580 (1983). The test is whether the independent source of law “can fairly be interpreted as mandating compensation by the [fjederal [government for [the particular harm] sustained [by the particular plaintiff].” Id. at 216-17, 103 S.Ct. 2961, 2967-68 (citation omitted); see also Fisher, 402 F.3d at 1172 (“[The] source must be ‘money-mandating.’ ”); Contreras v. United States, 64 Fed. Cl. 583, 588-92 (2005).

When faced with a jurisdictional challenge under Rule 12(b)(1), the court will generally “accept as true the facts alleged in the complaint and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.”1 Goel v. United States, 62 Fed.Cl. 804, 806 (2004) (citing Henke v. United States, 60 F.3d 795, 797 (Fed.Cir.1995)); accord Folden v. United States, 379 F.3d 1344, 1354 (Fed.Cir.2004) (quoting Shearin v. United States, 992 F.2d 1195, 1195-96 (Fed.Cir.1993)). Courts hold pro se complaints, “however inartfully pleaded,” “to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 596, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972); accord Vaizburd v. United States, 384 F.3d 1278, 1285 n. 8 (Fed.Cir.2004) (citing Forshey v. Principi, 284 F.3d 1335, 1357 (Fed.Cir.2002) (en banc)).

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Bluebook (online)
118 Fed. Cl. 76, 2014 U.S. Claims LEXIS 883, 2014 WL 4260790, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hicks-v-united-states-uscfc-2014.