Johnson v. United States

49 Fed. Cl. 648, 53 ERC (BNA) 1138, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 110, 2001 WL 720471
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJune 26, 2001
DocketNo. 00-140L
StatusPublished
Cited by68 cases

This text of 49 Fed. Cl. 648 (Johnson 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
Johnson v. United States, 49 Fed. Cl. 648, 53 ERC (BNA) 1138, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 110, 2001 WL 720471 (uscfc 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

FIRESTONE, Judge.

This is a fifth amendment takings case. Plaintiff Michael M. Johnson (“Johnson”) is the sole shareholder of Johnson Properties, Inc. (“JPI”). JPI is the owner of a number of subsidiary companies that operate private sewage treatment plants in Louisiana. The present action arises from an order issued by the United States District Court for the [649]*649Western District of Louisiana in connection with an enforcement case against JPI. In 1998, the United States and the State of Louisiana commenced an enforcement action against JPI for violating various state and federal environmental laws. On March 22, 1999, after JPI failed to abide by the terms of the consent decree entered in the enforcement case, the district court entered an order appointing a receiver to take all actions necessary for JPI to achieve compliance with the environmental laws it had violated. Johnson appealed the appointment of the receiver to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, on the grounds that the appointment amounted to a taking of property without just compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment. On May 3, 2000, the Fifth Circuit dismissed Johnson’s takings challenge for lack of standing.

While Johnson’s appeal was pending in the Fifth Circuit, he filed the present case in which he also challenges the appointment of the receiver on takings grounds. The case is presently before this court on the government’s motion for summary judgment. The government contends that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling precludes the plaintiff from litigating his takings claim in this court and, in the alternative, that plaintiff has failed to state a valid takings claim.

Because the court finds that Johnson has failed to state a claim, the government’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The following facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff Johnson is the vice president, chairman, and sole shareholder of JPI. JPI owns numerous subsidiary companies which are primarily engaged in the water and sewage treatment industry. This action arises from actions taken by JPI at its sewage treatment plants in Louisiana.

In 1998, the United States sued JPI and some of its subsidiaries alleging numerous violations of § 301 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), see 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a) (1994). The State of Louisiana intervened in the action as a plaintiff and added various state law violations to the complaint. Thereafter, the parties negotiated a consent decree which was entered by the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in 1998. The decree specified the actions JPI was required to take in order to abate its state and federal environmental violations, and established stipulated penalties to be paid in the event that JPI violated the decree. The decree stated that the district court would retain jurisdiction over the matter “until further order of the Court or until termination of [the] Consent Decree.”

In February 1999, the United States and the State of Louisiana petitioned the district court for appointment of a receiver to ensure JPI’s compliance with the terms of the consent decree. According to the federal and state governments’ petition, JPI was not making adequate progress toward fully implementing the consent decree. Five months after the decree was entered, none of the solid waste treatment plants inspected was found to be in compliance with the terms of the decree: inspectors found 661 violations of the decree, including the continued release of raw sewage and sewage sludge into the environment.

Before the district court ruled on the governments’ request for appointment of a receiver, on March 12, 1999, JPI filed a petition in the Middle District of Louisiana for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. JPI also filed an application for a stay of the enforcement action in the bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court initially granted the stay. However, after a conference with the parties involved in the enforcement action, the bankruptcy judge concluded that the enforcement action was exempt from the automatic stay provision. JPI then noticed a motion for stay in the district court on March 15, 1999. The district court denied the motion, and JPI subsequently petitioned the Fifth Circuit for a writ of mandamus. On March 18, 1999, the Fifth Circuit denied the petition. See In re Johnson Properties, Inc., No. 99-30264 (5th Cir.1999) (order denying petition for writ of mandamus).

Thereafter, the district court conducted a hearing on the governments’ motion to appoint a receiver because of JPI’s failure to [650]*650meet its consent decree obligations. On March 22,1999, the district court granted the motion. Under the March 22, 1999 order, the receiver was given broad powers to perform all acts necessary to achieve compliance with the consent decree, including the authority to sell corporate property and to manage, control, and deal with “all items, assets, properties, contracts, and other matters incident to the Receiver’s responsibilities.” United States v. Acadia Woods Add. # 2 Sewer Co., 41 F.Supp.2d 632, 633 (W.D.La.1999).

On April 22, 1999, Johnson, not JPI, appealed the order appointing a receiver to the Fifth Circuit on the grounds that the appointment resulted in a taking. In particular, Johnson argued that the receiver’s right to sell corporate property in order to achieve compliance with the consent decree amounted to a taking of his private property without just compensation. On May 3, 2000, the Fifth Circuit dismissed Johnson’s appeal for lack of standing, ruling as follows:

[Johnson] contends that he will be permanently deprived of property because the receiver will sell some of JPI’s subsidiaries’ assets in order to finance the process of bringing the [sewage treatment plants] into compliance with the terms of the consent decree____Johnson cannot complain that he will be injured because some of the subsidiaries’ assets may be sold by the receiver. It is a well-established principle of corporate law that corporate assets belong to the corporation, not to the shareholder. Thus, the injury asserted by Johnson actually inheres to the corporation. ... [W]e have not addressed the question whether a shareholder has standing to allege a taking of corporate assets. The Federal Circuit, which has, has only exercised jurisdiction over a derivative action asserting a takings claim when the action could be construed “as filed by a sole shareholder on behalf of a corporation alleging that compensation to the corporation will result in a surplus in which the shareholder possesses a direct interest.” We are not persuaded that Johnson has alleged such an interest here. As a result, we find that Johnson lacks standing to bring a takings claim or to assert one on appeal.

United States v. Acadiana Treatment Sys., Inc., 214 F.3d 1350 (table), No. 99-30476, slip. op. at 8-10 (5th Cir. May 3, 2000) (citations omitted) (emphasis added). The Fifth Circuit also noted that because JPI had filed for bankruptcy protection, only the bankruptcy trustee would have standing to assert JPI’s rights. Id. at 9. See 11 U.S.C. § 541(a) (1994).

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Bluebook (online)
49 Fed. Cl. 648, 53 ERC (BNA) 1138, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 110, 2001 WL 720471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-united-states-uscfc-2001.