Hoskins v. United States

61 Fed. Cl. 209, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 157, 2004 WL 1474564
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJune 30, 2004
DocketNo. 03-2005C
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 61 Fed. Cl. 209 (Hoskins 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
Hoskins v. United States, 61 Fed. Cl. 209, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 157, 2004 WL 1474564 (uscfc 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

HEWITT, Judge.

In this military pay case, the court has before it Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Def.’s MTD or defendant’s motion), Plaintiffs Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record (Pl.’s MSJ or plaintiffs motion) and Defendant’s Reply to Plaintiffs Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, Opposition to Plaintiffs Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record, and Cross-Motion for Judgment upon the Administrative Record (Def.’s MSJ or defendant’s cross-motion).1 Defendant asserts [211]*211two grounds for dismissal of plaintiffs claims under the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC): pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1), defendant asserts that the court lacks jurisdiction “because [plaintiffs claim] is not based upon a money mandating provision”; and, pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(6), defendant asserts that plaintiffs “complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, as her promotion to [chief master sergeant] is a nonjusticiable discretionary issue solely within the purview of the military.” Def.’s MTD at 1. Plaintiffs motion asserts that the decision of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR) denying plaintiff promotion to chief master sergeant and other relief was “arbitrary and capricious,” Pl.’s Mem. at 16, states that there are no genuine issues of material fact, id. at 1, and requests judgment on the administrative record pursuant to RCFC 56.1, id. Defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment asserts that “the AFBCMR has awarded complete relief [to plaintiff] as required by applicable statutes and regulations,” Def.’s MSJ at 19, that the AFBCMR decision regarding plaintiffs claims “is supported by substantial record evidence, [and that] the United States is entitled to judgment upon the administrative record,” id. at 13-14.

For the following reasons, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is DENIED, Plaintiffs Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record is DENIED and Defendant’s Cross-Motion for Judgment upon the Administrative Record is GRANTED.

1. Background2

Plaintiff is retired from active-duty service in the United States Air Force (USAF). AR at 166. While serving as a master sergeant (MSgt) in the USAF, plaintiff received a job performance evaluation (Enlisted Personnel Report or EPR) for the period from July 1, 1989 to March 30, 1990 (the contested EPR) that gave her “downgraded markings” compared to her previous performance evaluations from other raters. Pl.’s Mem. at 2-3. Plaintiff was not selected for promotion to senior master sergeant (SMSgt) beginning with the 1992 promotion cycle, while the contested EPR was part of her personnel file. Id. at 3. Plaintiff applied to the AFBCMR to “appeal[ ] the [contested EPR] and her non-selection for promotion.” Pl.’s Facts ¶ 7. The AFBCMR denied plaintiffs application in a 2-1 decision, id. ¶ 9, but Joe G. Lineberger, then Deputy for Air Force Review Boards, decided to follow the minority of the AFBCMR panel and held that “the contested [EPR] should be voided and removed from the applicant’s [plaintiffs] records,” AR at 78.

The reasons cited for removing the contested EPR were that the rater was “prejudicial by nature [according to letters from four different individuals]” and that the EPR “contains negative comments and is a clear departure from the applicant’s overall manner of performance as recorded on her last seven EPRs.” Id. Mr. Lineberger concluded that “[g]iven the totality of the evidence presented and the applicant’s outstanding performance history, I believe that the benefit of any doubt should be resolved in her favor by voiding the contested EPR and providing reconsideration for promotion to senior master sergeant by all appropriate cycles.” Id. On August 2, 1994, Mr. Lineberger ordered plaintiffs record to be corrected, that supplemental promotion consideration for the grade of senior master sergeant be provided beginning with the 1992 cycle,3 and that

[212]*212[i]f supplemental promotion consideration results in the selection for promotion to the higher grade, immediately after such promotion the records shall be corrected to show that she was promoted to the higher grade on the date of rank established by the supplemental promotion and that she is entitled to all pay, allowances, and benefits of such grade as of that date.

Id. at 77.

Plaintiff was not promoted to SMSgt despite her consideration by supplemental promotion boards for the appropriate promotion cycles. Compl. ¶ 10. Plaintiff then applied for and received a further correction of her military records to include an additional favorable EPR inserted into her sequence of performance evaluations in place of the voided EPR and supplemental promotion consideration of the updated personnel record starting with the 1993 promotion cycle. Pl.’s Facts ¶¶ 12-13; AR at 82. Joe T. Lineberger, Air Force Review Boards Agency Director, ordered the aforementioned corrections on March 7, 1997 and again ordered that

[i]f supplemental promotion consideration results in the selection for promotion to the higher grade, immediately after such promotion the records shall be corrected to show that she was promoted to the higher grade on the date of rank established by the supplemental promotion and that she is entitled to all pay, allowances, and benefits of such grade as of that date.

AR at 82.

Plaintiff received a supplemental promotion to SMSgt in October of 1997, with the date of rank designated July 1, 1993. Pl.’s Facts ¶ 14-15; AR at 46. It appears from the record that the back pay and allowances that were due from this promotion were pro-

cessed for plaintiff. See AR at 90 (“Please have the member [plaintiff] sign below requesting we process the action for the back pay and allowances.”). The promotion to senior master sergeant entitled plaintiff to supplemental consideration for promotion to chief master sergeant (CMSgt) starting with the 1995 promotion cycle. Pl.’s Facts ¶ 15; AR at 90.

The primary controversy in this case results from the back-dated promotion to SMSgt effective July 1, 1993. Pl.’s Facts ¶ 15. From 1993 to 1997 plaintiff served in the Air Force as a master sergeant, and was rated for her performance in that rank, see Compl. ¶ 22 (“All EPRs in plaintiffs record upon supplemental promotion indicated that plaintiffs evaluated grade was Master Sergeant E-7.”), but this period of service was also retroactively upgraded to senior master sergeant, with entitlement to supplemental promotion consideration for the rank of chief master sergeant (CMSgt) beginning with the 1995 promotion cycle, Pl.’s Facts ¶ 15. Plaintiff contends that because her competitors for promotion to CMSgt had all been rated for performance as senior master sergeants (SMSgt) during this period, and particularly because her competitors had SMSgt EPRs in their records whereas she only had MSgt EPRs, her chances for promotion to CMSgt were permanently and unfairly disadvantaged. See Pl.’s Mem. at 14 (“Under these circumstances, plaintiff could not ‘fairly and equitably’ compete for promotion with the records of Senior Master Sergeants who actually were evaluated in that grade, because her record did not provide the evaluators with any evaluation in the grade of Senior Master Sergeant.”).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
61 Fed. Cl. 209, 2004 U.S. Claims LEXIS 157, 2004 WL 1474564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoskins-v-united-states-uscfc-2004.