Lewis v. United States

99 Fed. Cl. 772, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1570, 2011 WL 3332160
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided August 1, 2011·No. No. 11-71C·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND FINAL ORDER

BRADEN, Judge.

I. RELEVANT FACTS.1

On November 19, 1968, James M. Lewis enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (“USMC”). See Lewis I, 1990 WL 454624, at [774]*774*1. In June 1969, Mr. Lewis began serving as a general warehouseman for the 1st Force Service Regiment in Vietnam. Id.

On May 22, 1970, Mr. Lewis was convicted by a General Court Martial of assault with a dangerous weapon, striking a noncommis-sioned officer, making threats, and multiple acts of disrespect. Id. He was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for two years, a reduction in pay grade, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and discharge for bad conduct. Id. On January 27, 1971, the United States Navy Court of Military Review reduced Mr. Lewis’ sentence to twelve months of hard labor. Id.

On April 1, 1971, Mr. Lewis requested a review of his discharge for bad conduct from the United States Court of Military Appeals (“USCMA”). Id. Prior to taking appellate leave,2 Mr. Lewis signed the following statement: “If the [Bad Conduct Discharge] is set aside and no rehearing is to be held, I shall be discharged with the type of discharge warranted by my service record.” Ex. 1. On May 27,1971, the USCMA denied Mr. Lewis’ request for review and a discharge for bad conduct was issued August 27, 1971. Id.

Subsequently, Mr. Lewis filed a Petition for Extraordinary Relief. Id. On September 13, 1972, the USCMA granted Mr. Lewis’s Petition for Extraordinary Relief and set aside the May 22, 1970 general courh-mar-tial’s findings and sentence. See Lewis v. United States, 45 C.M.R. 937 (C.M.A.1972). On October 10, 1972, the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction restored all rights, privileges, and property that Mr. Lewis was deprived of as a result of the May 22, 1970 decision.3 See Lewis I, 1990 WL 454624, at *1.

On January 2, 1974, the USCMA received a letter from Mr. Lewis seeking information about the final disposition of his case. Id.; Compl. at 3. On February 27, 1974, the USMC reinstated Mr. Lewis to the rank of private first class and issued a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,4 retroactive to August 27, 1971, which stated the reason for discharge as “for convenience of the Government.” Lewis I, 1990 WL 454624, at *1. On March 28, 1974, Mr. Lewis’s August 27, 1971 discharge for bad conduct was changed to a general discharge under honorable conditions for convenience of the Government. Id.

In 1983, Mr. Lewis filed a Petition with the Naval Discharge Review Board to request that his General Discharge be changed to an Honorable Discharge. Id. at *2. On November 25, 1983, that petition was denied. Id. Subsequently, Mr. Lewis appealed to the Board for Correction of Naval Records (“BCNR”), for corrections to his military record, reinstatement, and retroactive promotion. Id. On April 3, 1984, the BCNR denied the Appeal. Id. On June 7, 1988, the BCNR granted Mr. Lewis’s Request For Reconsideration, in part, and removed information in Mr. Lewis’s military record reflecting the May 22, 1970 General Court Martial conviction, but denied his request for reinstatement to active service and retroactive promotion. Id.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY.

A. In The United States District Court For The District Of Columbia.

On May 18, 1989, Mr. Lewis filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (the “District Court”), challenging the BCNR’s June 7, 1988 decision, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701, et seq. (“APA”), and seeking reinstatement to active duty.5 See Lewis I, 1990 WL 454624, at *3. [775]*775The District Court held that Mr. Lewis’s claim for improper discharge was barred by the six-year statute of limitations,6 because he waited until nine years after his discharge to pursue his administrative remedies.7 Id. at *6. The District Court, however, determined that Mr. Lewis’s challenge of the BCNR’s June 7, 1988 decision was timely, holding that the right to obtain judicial review of an administrative decision accrues at the time of administrative decision, not at the time of the underlying discharge. Id. at *8. Nevertheless, the District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the Government, because Mr. Lewis “failed to carry his burden of establishing that the decision of the BCNR was ‘arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law.’ ” Id. at *9.

B. Before The United States Court of Federal Claims.

On April 1, 1992, Mr. Lewis (“Plaintiff’) filed a Complaint in the United States Court of Federal Claims for judicial review of the June 7, 1988 BCNR Decision, denying Mr. Lewis’s request for reinstatement, retroactive promotion, and back pay arising from a wrongful discharge. See Lewis II, 27 Fed.Cl. 104, 106 (1992). On November 12, 1992, the April 1, 1992 Complaint was dismissed because Plaintiffs claims were barred by the statute of limitations. Id. at 107. Mr. Lewis’s claim accrued on August 27,1971, the date of his initial discharge, or on March 28, 1974, when his discharge was reclassified as a general discharge, and the statute of limitations was not tolled by his 1983 appeal to the BCNR. Lewis II, 27 Fed.Cl. at 107.

On February 2, 2011, Mr. Lewis filed a second Complaint at the United States Court of Federal Claims, together with attached Exhibits. On February 28, 2011, Plaintiff filed a Motion To Amend, that was granted on March 4, 2011. On April 18, 2011, by leave of the court, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint. The April 18, 2011 First Amended Complaint alleges that the USMC unlawfully discharged Plaintiff on August 27,1971 and subsequently concealed the reason for his discharge to prevent him from bringing suit. Compl. at 2, 4, 8-10. The April 18, 2011 First Amended Complaint alleges that Plaintiff discovered for the first time that he had been discharged under 10 U.S.C. § 874(b)8 in 2006, when he became aware of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision.9 Id. at 6. The April 18, 2011 First Amended Complaint requests that the court compel the Government to: 1) restore Plaintiff to active duty, effective March 1, 1970, and retroactively promote him; 2) pay him $5,000,000 in back pay; 3) remove paragraph 6012.1f(17) from the Marine Corps Separation and Retirement Manual; and 4) grant Plaintiff relief from the judgment in his prior litigation in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Id. at 15.

On April 22, 2011, the Government filed a Motion To Dismiss (“Gov’t Mot.”), pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”).

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Lewis v. United States, 99 Fed. Cl. 772, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1570, 2011 WL 3332160 (uscfc 2011).

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