Kim v. United States

47 Fed. Cl. 493, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 176, 2000 WL 1277943
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedSeptember 8, 2000
DocketNo. 99-199 C
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 47 Fed. Cl. 493 (Kim 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
Kim v. United States, 47 Fed. Cl. 493, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 176, 2000 WL 1277943 (uscfc 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

DAMICH, Judge.

I. Introduction

This military pay case comes before the Court on Defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Court of Federal Claims (RCFC) or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(4). Defendant contends that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider Plaintiffs claims because Plaintiff voluntarily resigned from the Army. In the alternative, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs complaint is nonjusticiable because it challenges the substance of the Army’s decisions. Although Defendant’s motion is pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1), the Court believes that it is more appropriate to proceed pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(4). Since this is a military pay case, the Court has subject matter jurisdiction (RCFC 12(b)(1)). The Court proceeds pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(4), because an officer who voluntarily resigns from the military fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the reasons stated herein, the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.

II. Factual Background

On October 23,1978, Plaintiff was commissioned as a Major in the United States Army Medical Service Corps. In 1988, when Plaintiff was a Lieutenant Colonel, she received an adverse Officer Evaluation Report (OER) for her performance and potential as the chief pathologist in Seoul, Korea.1 Plaintiff contends that this adverse rating constituted a reprisal for her refusal to cooperate in a cover-up of possible medical malpractice by her rater and senior rater, Colonel Hick and Colonel Bowen.2 Plaintiff was not selected for promotion to Colonel during promotion boards held during the years 1988 to 1996.

On August 13, 1992, the Army, citing the 1988 OER as a reason, initiated elimination proceedings against Plaintiff. On March 1, 1993, Plaintiff petitioned the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to amend her 1988 OER. Plaintiff requested that the OER be corrected to reflect the same rating as the OER immediately preceding it, and to replace the senior rater’s comments with the senior rater’s comments from the previous year’s OER. Plaintiff made this request even though the earlier rating was for a different position, and was made by a different person from the one for the contested period. On April 7, 1993, the ABCMR denied Plaintiffs petition. On May 23, 1994, the ABCMR denied her request for reconsideration.

On April 20, 1994, a Board of Inquiry considering the Army’s proposed elimination of Plaintiff found the reasons for Plaintiff’s elimination to be unsubstantiated and unsustained, and recommended her retention. However, the findings did not show that her commander (senior rater) took reprisal against her for implicating him in an alleged cover-up of medical malpractice by submitting an improper 1988 OER.

[496]*496On September 25, 1995, Dr. Kim again petitioned the ABCMR to reconsider its earlier decision not to amend her 1988 OER. She supplemented her petition numerous times up to May 10, 1998, and expanded her petition to request amendment of her 1996 OER. The ABCMR denied her request for reconsideration on January 13, 1999. Plaintiff alleges that the Correction Board considered “other OER’s” and irrelevant factors such as Plaintiffs general potential for promotion rather than the issues presented by Plaintiff.

On April 9, 1997, the Army initiated elimination proceedings against Plaintiff for substandard performance. According to Defendant, in lieu of separation, Plaintiff voluntarily retired from the service in order to obtain retirement benefits. Plaintiffs request for early retirement was tendered on May 5, 1997, and became effective on August 31, 1997.

On April 5,1999, Dr. Kim filed a complaint in the United States Court of Federal Claims. An amended complaint was filed on November 11, 1999. Plaintiff appeals the ABCMR denial of her request for reconsideration issued on January 13, 1999, after her retirement. Plaintiff contends that the denial of relief was arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence, and/or contrary to law. Plaintiff further asserts that her retirement was involuntary because she was constructively discharged through the initiation of elimination proceedings. Plaintiff also alleges that her retirement was coerced and under duress and induced by representations of the Army that the review and correction of Plaintiffs records by the ABCMR would continue regardless of whether Plaintiff retired. Plaintiff also contends that there was a “concerted plan” to eliminate her from the Army. Plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to harassment and attempts to discredit and intimidate her.3 Plaintiff seeks back pay, correction of her 1987-1988 Officer Evaluation Report (OER), and reinstatement to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. Additionally, Plaintiff contends that the administrative record produced by the government in this case does not contain any of the taped testimony and other evidence Plaintiff presented to the 1994 Board of Inquiry hearings.

III. Discussion

A. Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(4)

Defendant asks this Court to dismiss Plaintiffs complaint pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The basis of this argument is that Defendant claims Plaintiff resigned voluntarily. According to Defendant, when an officer leaves the military voluntarily, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Although the Court agrees that Plaintiffs complaint should be dismissed, the appropriate inquiry is whether Plaintiff has stated a claim for which relief can be granted. See Palmer v. United States, 168 F.3d 1310, 1313 (Fed. Cir.1999). An officer who has voluntarily resigned from the military fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because such claims are not brought pursuant to a money mandating statute. Adkins v. United States, 68 F.3d 1317, 1321 (Fed.Cir. 1995).

“A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(4) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is appropriate when the facts asserted by the claimant do not under the law entitle him to a remedy____In reviewing the dismissal under Rule 12(b)(4), we are mindful that we must assume all well-pled factual allegations as true and make all reasonable inferences in favor of ... the nonmovant.” Perez v. United States, 156 F.3d 1366, 1370 (Fed.Cir.1998). “Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(4) is appropriate only when it is beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim [that] would entitle him to relief .... Because [497]*497granting such a motion summarily terminates the case on its merits, courts broadly construe the complaint, particularly in light of the liberal pleading requirements under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” (citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted). Ponder v. United States, 117 F.3d 549, 552-53 (Fed.Cir.1997).

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Bluebook (online)
47 Fed. Cl. 493, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 176, 2000 WL 1277943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kim-v-united-states-uscfc-2000.