Nelson v. United States

CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMarch 17, 2026
Docket25-1543
StatusUnpublished

This text of Nelson v. United States (Nelson 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.

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Nelson v. United States, (uscfc 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

NOT FOR PUBLICATION ______________________________________ ) LUCAS RANDALL NELSON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) No. 25-1543 ) v. ) Filed: March 17, 2026 ) THE UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ______________________________________ )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiff Lucas Randall Nelson, proceeding pro se, filed this breach of contract action

against the United States. According to Plaintiff, by failing to process Plaintiff’s GSA-Form

Bonds and discharge his commercial paper liability related to his criminal conviction in Texas

state court, the Government breached Plaintiff’s alleged contract with the U.S. Department of the

Treasury (“U.S. Treasury”). The Government moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint pursuant to

Rule 12(b)(1) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”), arguing that

Plaintiff failed to put forth a well-pleaded allegation that he entered into a contract with the United

States. In response, Plaintiff moved to strike the Government’s motion as frivolous. For the

reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS the Government’s Motion to Dismiss and DENIES

Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 17, 2025, Plaintiff filed his Complaint seeking relief for an alleged breach

of contract. Pl.’s Compl., ECF No. 1. In addition to the United States, the Complaint names as

defendants: the State of Texas, numerous state and county officials in Texas, and a private defense attorney. See id. at 1. Presumably, these defendants were all involved in Plaintiff’s state court

criminal prosecution, conviction, and subsequent incarceration. Plaintiff also names the U.S.

Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, as well as a magistrate judge and the Clerk of Court

in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where Plaintiff’s application for a writ

of habeas corpus was considered and denied.1

As best the Court can discern, Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges that he tendered “GSA-Form

Bonds” to the United States to discharge “outstanding commercial paper liability” that Plaintiff

believes is tied to his criminal conviction. See id. at 6–7; see also Pl.’s Compl., Ex. 2 at 56, ECF

No. 1-2 (attaching a purported $100,000,000 “self backed bond based on [Plaintiff’s] future

earnings” (capitalization removed)); Pl.’s Resp. to Mot. to Dismiss and Mot. to Strike Gov’t’s Mot.

to Dismiss with Mem. of Law in Supp. at 9–10, ECF No. 10 (clarifying that Plaintiff allegedly

presented GSA-Form Bonds “through Global Solutions Limited Company (UK)” to discharge

“commercial paper liabilities . . . for penal sums codified at Title 27 CFR §72.11 ‘commercial

crimes’ defined and/or those commercial crimes found in the Hobbs Act” (emphasis omitted)).

The United States allegedly “failed to perform discharge” and thus breached its purported contract

with Plaintiff. ECF No. 1 at 7. Plaintiff accordingly contends that the Court has Tucker Act

jurisdiction to hear his breach of contract claim. See id. at 2. In addition to this contractual theory,

Plaintiff alleges that the Court has jurisdiction because “there exists an issue as to setoff in the

relation between Plaintiff and a fiscal agent of the United States . . . pursuant to Title 28 USC

§1503 – setoffs.” Id. (citation modified).

1 Plaintiff originally filed his habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, which transferred the petition to the Southern District. See Nelson v. Collier, No. 6:25-cv-00208 (W.D. Tex. May 19, 2025), ECF No. 7.

2 Plaintiff does not seek monetary relief for his claims; rather, he asks the Court to: (1)

require that “the bonds tendered in accord with . . . [Plaintiff’s] [c]ontract with the U.S. Treasury[]

be honored, processed, and acknowledged;” (2) order Plaintiff’s release from incarceration;

(3) “[p]rovide plaintiff a full final accounting, a 1099, a ‘zero balance due’ document if d/b/a

defendant is a Clerk of Court in a Court (civil or criminal);” and (4) “[p]lace the ‘d/b/a defendant’

on probation due to their inability or unwillingness or ignorance as to their failure to process,

discharge, and release plaintiff from all commercial liability(ies) at issue.” Id. at 8 (emphases in

original).

The Government moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint for lack of subject-matter

jurisdiction on November 14, 2025. Gov’t’s Mot. to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter

Jurisdiction, ECF No. 8. According to the Government, Plaintiff fails to allege sufficient facts to

show the existence of a valid contract with the United States. Id. at 3. The Government

emphasizes the lack of any factual allegations demonstrating intent by the United States to enter

into a contract with Plaintiff and notes that Plaintiff’s Complaint utilizes sovereign citizen tactics.

Id. at 4–6. In response to Plaintiff’s attempt to invoke this Court’s set-off jurisdiction under

§ 1503, the Government argues that such jurisdiction only extends to counterclaims brought by

the United States and is thus irrelevant here, where no such counterclaim has been made. Id. at 6–

7.

Plaintiff filed his response by leave of the Court on December 19, 2025. See ECF No. 10.

In his response, Plaintiff disputes that the Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, emphasizing that

the deposit of his birth certificate in the U.S. Treasury via a Treasury Direct Account established

a contractual relationship between Plaintiff and the United States. See id. at 2–5. Plaintiff’s

response further requests that the Court (1) “acknowledge that plaintiff is a secured party in relation

3 to defendant,” (2) “enforce the discharge for plaintiff’s commercial paper liabilities,” (3) “strike

defendant’s Answer in the Form of a Motion to Dismiss,” and (4) “grant plaintiff’s requested relief

in the Complaint.” Id. at 21 (emphasis in original).

On January 6, 2026, the Government filed a reply, reiterating its argument that Plaintiff’s

allegations “fail to show the existence of a valid contract between the plaintiff and the United

States,” and further contending that the statutes and regulations cited by Plaintiff are not money-

mandating. Gov’t’s Reply in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction at

2, ECF No. 11. The Government also claims that Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike is improper, as such

a motion may only be directed at a pleading. Id. at 3. Plaintiff did not file a reply in support of

his Motion to Strike. The Government’s Motion to Dismiss and Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike are

both ripe for the Court’s review.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Dismissal for Lack of Jurisdiction

The United States Court of Federal Claims is a court of limited jurisdiction. Massie v.

United States, 226 F.3d 1318, 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2000). Before the Court can reach the merits of a

plaintiff’s claim, it must first assure itself of the existence of subject-matter jurisdiction. See

Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 583 (1999). If the Court lacks subject-matter

jurisdiction, it must dismiss the action. RCFC 12(h)(3); see also RCFC 12(b)(1). The Court’s

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