Levy v. United States

10 Cl. Ct. 602, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 817
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedAugust 14, 1986
DocketNo. 736-85L
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 10 Cl. Ct. 602 (Levy v. 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
Levy v. United States, 10 Cl. Ct. 602, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 817 (cc 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

This case comes before the court on defendant’s Motion To Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the reasons set forth below, the court finds that it has jurisdiction over the action, but that partial summary judgment must be granted against plaintiffs because, with respect to their first claim, no material facts are in dispute and they have failed to set forth a claim entitling them to relief.

FACTS

Pursuant to a March 22, 1985 Order for Interlocutory Sale entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, certain property in Golden Beach, Florida, was ordered sold. Plaintiffs in that case had filed a Complaint To Quiet Title after the property was forfeited to the United States under 21 U.S.C. § 848(a)(2)(A) (1982), as the profits of a continuing criminal enterprise which “afforded a source of influence over” the owner’s drug enterprise. See Memorandum Opinion Containing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Ramaria Familien-stiftung v. United States, 643 F.Supp. 139, 144 (S.D. Fla.1986). The property consisted of two parcels of land. Parcel A is Lots 23, 24, and 25, Block D, Section A, known as 577 Ocean Boulevard, Golden Beach, Florida. Parcel B, located directly across the street from Parcel A, is Lot 3, Block 2. The district court ordered the sale “on behalf of this Court and subject to its continuing supervision by the U.S. General Services Administration.” Id. at 2.

[605]*605The General Services Administration (GSA) advertised the property as, inter alia, “an oceanfront villa, nine bedrooms, seven baths, pool, and tennis court,” and publicly auctioned it, on-site, at 4:00 p.m. on April 25, 1985. Paragraph 3 of the General Terms of Sale, “Condition of Property,” stated:

The property is offered for sale and will be sold “As Is” and “Where Is” without representation, warranty or guaranty as to quantity, quality, character, condition, size, or kind, or that the same is in condition or fit to be used for the purpose for which intended, and no claim for any allowance or deduction upon such grounds will be considered after the auction.

Exhibit C, Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss, filed March 25, 1986. Plaintiffs, who are husband and wife, submitted the highest qualified bid, $919,000.00, and were awarded the property.

On the day before the sale, a notice of encroachment filed by I.J. Archer was recorded in the Dade County, Florida land records, asserting that the improvements on Parcel B encroached by approximately five feet onto her property. That parcel contains the tennis court, while all of the remaining improvements stand on Parcel A.

By order dated May 16, 1985, the district court confirmed the interlocutory sale to plaintiffs in this action. On August 12, 1985, after correspondence between plaintiffs’ attorney and GSA concerning the encroachment and damages to Parcel A alleged to have occurred after the auction, the sale was finalized at the bid price by issuance of both a quit-claim deed and a bill of sale by the United States to plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs filed their complaint in this court on December 16, 1985. On May 16, 1986, they filed a Petition To Intervene in the quiet title action then still pending in the district court, seeking permission to file a Petition for Declaratory Decree or, in the Alternative, Petition for Relief from Order. On May 30, 1986, the district court entered a final judgment in that action, awarding all of the proceeds of the sale of both parcels of land to the United States. Neither the final judgment nor the memorandum opinion also filed by the district court on May 30, 1986, referred to plaintiffs or their May 16, 1986 petitions. However, on June 24, 1986, the district court issued an order stating that “Petitioners’ Petition for Declaratory Decree or, in the Alternative, Petition for Relief from Order ... is hereby denied.”

Oral argument on defendant’s motion was held on July 31, 1986.

PLEADINGS

The essence of plaintiffs’ complaint is that the United States advertised for sale a luxury residence with a tennis court; that because of the encroachment the tennis court has been rendered unusable; and that GSA knew of the encroachment but failed to so inform bidders at the auction. In addition, they assert that damage was done to the house, its furnishings and fixtures, and to its appurtenant structures while it was still under the control of a GSA-appointed custodian, Tom Ward. Plaintiffs seek damages for the diminution in value resulting from both the encroachment and the missing and damaged items.

In its answer and subsequent pleadings, defendant denies knowledge by GSA of the encroachment prior to the recordation of the notice of encroachment in the county land records and denies that Mr. Ward was hired by GSA to maintain the property. On March 26, 1986, it moved for dismissal of the claims for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Specifically, defendant asserts that this court lacks jurisdiction for two reasons. First, it contends that a claim arising out of a judicial sale in a federal district court must be prosecuted before that court and not before this court. Second, it contends that the complaint charges GSA with negligence, which sounds in tort, and that tort claims are specifically excepted from this court’s jurisdiction.

[606]*606As to its assertion that plaintiffs have failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted, defendant contends that plaintiffs’ claim can rise no higher than their contract, and that because they bought the property with constructive knowledge of the encroachment, i.e., after recordation of the notice, and on an “as is” basis, they are entitled to no relief. Defendant also asserts, in this regard, that plaintiffs waived any claim they may have by accepting the bid package of GSA.

By order dated June 10, 1986, this court informed the parties that it would be appropriate to treat defendant’s motion to dismiss, insofar as it asserted under RUSCC 12(b)(4) that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, as a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56. The court provided the parties with an opportunity to file additional legal argument and materials in support of, or opposition to, summary judgment and with respect to the jurisdictional aspects of defendant’s motion.

In response, defendant reasserts its first claim, that plaintiffs’ remedy, if any, must be in a proceeding before the district court. With respect to its argument that this court cannot take jurisdiction over the case because it sounds in tort, defendant asserts that insofar as plaintiffs base their claims on fraud and misrepresentation by GSA, they are outside the scope of the court’s authority. Finally, defendant argues that there was no contractual obligation on the part of the government with regard to the maintenance of property after the bid, and that plaintiffs’ claim for damages sustained while Mr. Ward maintained the property is a claim for consequential damages, which are not recoverable against the United States in a breach of contract action.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Cl. Ct. 602, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levy-v-united-states-cc-1986.