Landers v. United States

74 Fed. Cl. 668, 2006 U.S. Claims LEXIS 357, 2006 WL 3412260
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedNovember 20, 2006
DocketNo. 06-314C
StatusPublished

This text of 74 Fed. Cl. 668 (Landers 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
Landers v. United States, 74 Fed. Cl. 668, 2006 U.S. Claims LEXIS 357, 2006 WL 3412260 (uscfc 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

HORN, Judge.

This matter comes before the court on the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint filed by plaintiff Carl Landers. Specifically, the government alleges that this court lacks jurisdiction pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC) because: 1) the statute of limitations on Mr. Landers’ claims has expired pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2501 (2000); 2) Mr. Landers’ claims challenge a 1997 Final Decision of the Board of Veterans Appeals; and 3) Mr. Landers fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because the Settlement Agreement provided no representation or guarantee that Mr. Landers’ receipt of the settlement would not impact his Veterans Administration (VA) compensation payments.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Plaintiff Carl Landers served on active duty from December, 1979 to December, 1983 and again from July, 1984 to June, 1987. He was treated in a hospital operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). On September 30, 1992, Mr. Landers filed suit against the United States government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2671, et seq. (2000), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging negligent medical care by the VA in the diagnosis and treatment of his Crohn’s disease at a VA medical facility.

On March 9, 1994, the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to Mr. Landers’ case sent a letter to Mr. Landers and his attorney, Bonita P. Martinez, to convey a structured settlement offer in the case. The letter offered Mr. Landers a lump sum payment of $70,000.00, along with monthly payments of $600.00 per month for life, guaranteed for 20 years, with an expected payout of $364,000.00. The letter stated that “[t]he monthly income (tax-free) of $600 ($7,200 per year) when added to his [plaintiffs] Social Security and VA disability income brings Mr. Landers to an annual income level of almost $17,000.” The letter also stated that with an “ ‘up front’ cash payment of $70,000.00, he would end up with a substantial sum even after attorneys fees and costs have been deducted.”

According to a letter from Mr. Landers to this court dated May 25, 2006, Mr. Landers’ attorney in the District Court action told him that she was entitled to $70,000.00 to cover her attorney’s fees. Mr. Landers claims that his attorney, therefore, proposed to the Office of the United States Attorney that the lump sum be increased to $90,000.00. In a March 15, 1994 letter, the Assistant United States Attorney agreed to increase the lump sum payment to $90,000.00.

In a June 7, 2006 letter to this court, Mr. Landers makes an unsubstantiated assertion that the Assistant United States Attorney had assured him that the monthly payment of $600.00 “was above and beyond [his] disability compensation.” In the June 7, 2006 letter from Mr. Landers to the court, plaintiff also refers to his “current disability compensation.” It is not clear from the record whether he was referring to disability benefits he was receiving at the time of the settlement, or that he anticipated receiving such benefits in the future.

On March 29,1994, Mr. Landers, his attorney, and representatives of the government entered into a Compromise Settlement Agreement. In the Settlement Agreement, the government agreed to pay “Carl W. Lan-ders and his attorney a sum not to exceed Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000) from which sum Plaintiff shall pay his attorneys fees and costs of suit.” The check was to be made payable to Mr. Landers and his attorney. In addition, the Agreement stipulated that an annuity would be purchased from First Colony Life Insurance Company “that will result in the monthly payment of Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00) per month, commencing one month after funding of the settlement.” These payments “shall be payable for life, and are guaranteed for a period of twenty years certain, and shall be payable regardless of survivorship.” In a letter from [670]*670the VA General Counsel to Mr. Landers, it was explained that the Settlement Agreement provided that Mr. Landers would receive payments for life and that his estate would receive monthly payments from the government-purchased annuity for twenty years, even if Mr. Landers died during that time. Under the terms of the Agreement, plaintiffs attorney was to be paid no more than 25 percent of the final total cost of the settlement agreement. However, it appears from the record that the payment to plaintiff from the lump sum was only $20,000.00 and plaintiffs attorney, Ms. Martinez, received $70,000.00.1

In May, 1995, Mr. Landers received a rating decision from the VA to compensate him for a vascular necrosis of both hips resulting from steroid treatments administered at a VA medical facility. See 28 U.S.C. § 1151 (2000). According to plaintiffs complaint, in July, 1995, Mr. Landers received a letter from the VA stating that it had a right to recoup the full amount of $195,000.00 awarded in the earlier settlement with the government. Also, according to the complaint, in September, 1995, the VA began withholding money from Mr. Landers’ VA compensation benefits. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.800(a)(2) (2006). The pertinent regulation, 38 C.F.R. § 3.800(a)(2) provides:

Where any person is awarded a judgment on or after December 1, 1962, against the United States in a civil action brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1346(b), or enters into a settlement or compromise on or after December 1, 1962, under 28 U.S.C. 2672 or 2677, by reason of a disability, aggravation or death within the purview of this section, no compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation shall be paid to such person for any month beginning after the date such judgment, settlement, or compromise on account of such disability, aggravation, or death becomes final until the total amount of benefits which would be paid except for this provision equals the total amount included in such judgment, settlement, or compromise. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply, however, to any portion of such compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation payable for any period preceding the end of the month in which such judgment, settlement or compromise becomes final.

38 C.F.R. § 3.800(a)(2).

Although the record does not contain much information on prior proceedings, initially plaintiffs case contesting the recoupment appears to have been heard in the San Diego Regional Office of the VA. In January, 1997, Mr. Landers unsuccessfully appealed a negative recoupment decision to the Board of Veterans Appeals. He was represented by an American Legion attorney. On November 20, 1997, the Board of Veterans Appeals denied plaintiffs appeal and rejected plaintiffs contention that the VA should not be allowed to recoup the full amount of the $195,000.00 settlement.

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74 Fed. Cl. 668, 2006 U.S. Claims LEXIS 357, 2006 WL 3412260, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/landers-v-united-states-uscfc-2006.