Irving A. Kanarek v. The United States

394 F.2d 525, 184 Ct. Cl. 125, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 113
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMay 10, 1968
Docket139-58
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 394 F.2d 525 (Irving A. Kanarek v. The 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
Irving A. Kanarek v. The United States, 394 F.2d 525, 184 Ct. Cl. 125, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 113 (cc 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

This case was referred to Trial Commissioner Saul Richard Gamer with directions to make findings of fact and recommendation for conclusions of law under the order of reference and Rule 57(a). The commissioner has done so in an opinion and report filed on February-21, 1967. Exceptions to the commissioner’s opinion, findings of fact and recommended conclusion of law were filed by plaintiff and the case has been submitted to the court on the briefs of the parties and oral argument of plaintiff, pro se, and counsel for defendant. Since the court is in agreement with the commissioner’s opinion, findings and recommended conclusion of law, as hereinafter set forth, it hereby adopts the same as the basis for its judgment in this case. Therefore, plaintiff is entitled to recover and judgment is entered for plaintiff in the sum of $4,677.52.

OPINION OF COMMISSIONER

GAMER, Commissioner:

By its decision of March 6, 1963 1 on defendant’s, motion to dismiss (which was treated by the court as a motion for summary judgment), the court held that plaintiff was entitled, in accordance with the determination of the administrative agency (the Department of the Air Force), to recover the sum of $4,677.52, being the net amount of back salary plaintiff lost during the period July 12, 1954, when plaintiff’s security clearance was suspended, to January 29,1955, when plaintiff’s eligibility to receive further unemployment compensation payments was withrawn by the State of California Department of Employment. The administrative agency denied the balance of plaintiff’s back salary claim in the amount of $5,291.37 covering the period January 30, 1955 to September 21, 1955, the date plaintiff was notified that favorable action had been taken on his appeal and that the suspension of his security clearance had been lifted. The agency determined that, for such latter period, plaintiff had failed to make a satisfactory showing that he was ready, willing, and able to take suitable employment.

By said decision, the court granted defendant’s motion and dismissed all of plaintiff’s claims set forth in his petition, totaling $163,831, except as to said amount of $4,677.52, to which it held plaintiff to be entitled, and said balance of $5,291.37, upon which it reserved judgment. As to plaintiff’s entitlement to said balance, the court remanded “the case to a commissioner for a determination of the unresolved question of whether or not plaintiff actually did attempt to obtain employment in the period January 30, 1955 to September 21, 1955.” (314 F.2d at 805, 161 Ct.Cl. at 43-44.)

For the reasons set forth in the following detailed and ultimate findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is concluded that, considering all the facts and circumstances based upon a full review of the record, the administrative agency’s action was fair and reasonable and should be sustained, that plaintiff has failed to sustain his burden of proving entitlement to recovery for the period January 30, 1955 to September 21, 1955, and that judgment should be entered for plaintiff in the net amount of $4,677.52, representing gross lost wages of $4,752.52 during the period July 12, 1954 to January 29, 1955, less the amount of $75 earned in other employment during such period.

1. On July 12, 1954, the Department of the Air Force, by the action of the Screening Division of its Western Industrial Personnel Security Board, withdrew plaintiff’s authorization for access to Government classified information. As *527 a consequence, the employment of plaintiff, a research engineer, with North American Aviation, Inc., an Air Force contractor, was suspended, the contractor having previously executed a “Security Agreement” with the Department of the Air Force, acting for the Department of Defense, which required it to take such action under such circumstances. By letter dated September 29, 1954, plaintiff was notified that the Screening Division’s action had been affirmed by the Appeal Division of said Board.

2. On November 11, 1954, plaintiff established an “unemployment insurance” claim in the office of the State of California Department of Employment and thereafter drew weekly unemployment compensation from such date to January 29, 1955 in the total amount of $270. The record does not indicate why plaintiff waited until November before establishing such a claim. On the latter date, such payments were terminated. No appeal proceedings were instituted by plaintiff with respect to such cessation.

3. On plaintiff’s request, his case was reviewed by the Department of Defense Industrial Personnel Security Review Board which determined that the granting of clearance to plaintiff for access to classified information was clearly consistent with the interests of national security. North American Aviation was so notified by a letter dated September 15, 1955 from the Director of the Department of Defense Office of Industrial Personnel Security Review. On September 21, 1955, plaintiff was also so notified by the receipt of such a letter dated September 16, 1955.

4. (a) Department of Defense Directive No. 5220.6 of February 2, 1955, entitled ■“Industrial Personnel Security Review Regulation”, provided in paragraph 26, headed “Monetary Restitution”, that where, in such cases, there was a final determination favorable to an employee of a Department of Defense contractor, the particular Department concerned would reimburse the employee “in an equitable amount for any loss of earnings during the interim resulting directly from a suspension of clearance”, such amount not to “exceed the difference between the amount the contractor employee would have earned at the rate he was receiving on the date of suspension and the amount of his interim net earnings.”

(b) By letter of October 31, 1955, plaintiff inquired of the Director of the Office of Industrial Personnel Security Review how he could obtain the restitution provided by the directive.

5. Following receipt of information from the Department of Defense as to how to proceed, plaintiff, on December 27, 1955, submitted to the Department of the Air Force, on the required Department of Defense form entitled “Claim for Loss of Wages”, a claim in the amount of $9,698.89 for net lost wages from July 12, 1954, the date his security clearance was withdrawn, to September 21, 1955, which plaintiff set forth as the date of the reinstatement of such clearance. Plaintiff listed the total lost wages during the period of the suspension of his security clearance as $10,258.89. In response to a specific inquiry on the form concerning the “Amount of Unemployment Compensation Benefit Payments Received or Due for Period of Your Suspension”, plaintiff inserted the figure of $270, and deducted such amount from the total of lost wages, as well as, in response to another question on the form, the amount of $290 in earnings during such interim suspension period, making a net claim of $9,698.89.

6. The California Unemployment Insurance Code in effect at that time (West’s Annotated California Codes, Unemployment Insurance §§ 1253, 1256-1258) provided, among other things, that to be eligible to receive weekly unemployment compensation benefits, the claimant must register for work; continue to report to the appropriate public employment office; be able to, and be available for work; and attempt to seek work on his own behalf.

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Bluebook (online)
394 F.2d 525, 184 Ct. Cl. 125, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/irving-a-kanarek-v-the-united-states-cc-1968.