Pappas v. United States

66 Fed. Cl. 1, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 200, 2005 WL 1620391
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJune 8, 2005
DocketNo. 05-219C
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 66 Fed. Cl. 1 (Pappas 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
Pappas v. United States, 66 Fed. Cl. 1, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 200, 2005 WL 1620391 (uscfc 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

HORN, Judge.

Dennis J. Pappas, plaintiff, brings this action against the government seeking $10,000,000.00 in damages for allegedly breaching an agreement not to prosecute the plaintiff. The government has moved to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The facts, construed in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, Mr. Pappas, are as follows.

FINDINGS OF FACT

According to the complaint, [deleted] Dennis J. Pappas, the plaintiff, entered into an agreement with the defendant United States (the Agreement) to provide services to the government, while maintaining the government’s confidentiality. In exchange, the plaintiff alleges that the government promised to abandon an ongoing investigation concerning criminal charges against Mr. Pappas and not to indict him for criminal wrongdoing. According to Mr. Pappas, [deleted] he had completed the services required in the alleged Agreement.

Also, according to Mr. Pappas, in April, 1995, the government allegedly violated the Agreement by indicting, arresting, and arraigning him for racketeering and Internal Revenue Code violations. Mr. Pappas remained in pre-trial custody. He was re[2]*2leased in November of 1998 after being sentenced according to a plea agreement in which he pled guilty to racketeering and tax evasion. In the plea agreement, among other considerations, Mr. Pappas agreed to waive his right to appeal the criminal conviction or to challenge the sentence, [deleted]

After the plaintiff had expressed an intention to publicly reveal information encompassed within the Agreement, the United States, citing a non-disclosure agreement, obtained a protective order prohibiting Mr. Pappas from such disclosures. Mr. Pappas subsequently met with reporters, after which the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a supplemental protective order. The plaintiff appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Circuit Court dismissed the appeal in part and remanded to the trial court to decide if the Agreement/contract between the government and Mr. Pappas entitled the government to a protective order barring disclosure of information received from the government prior to the litigation and already made public and whether the issue should be decided as part of the pending criminal case or in a civil suit. United States v. Pappas, 94 F.3d 795, 798, 802 (2d Cir.1996). Upon remand, the District Court judge directed that a civil proceeding be filed.

During Mr. Pappas’ pre-trial incarceration, the government initiated the civil action, under seal, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Mr. Pappas [deleted]. The government sought injunctive relief prohibiting Mr. Pap-pas from discussing his dealings with the government and sought specific performance of the Agreement. The civil action was stayed pending resolution of Mr. Pappas’ criminal case. After his plea agreement, conviction, and release, Mr. Pappas responded to the government’s civil action by filing a counterclaim in District Court seeking breach of contract damages of $10,000,000.00, because, according to the plaintiff, the government allegedly had breached the Agreement by indicting him. In 1999, the government voluntarily dismissed its claim in the civil action in District Court in the Eastern District of New York, leaving only Mr. Pap-pas’ breach of contract claim. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York transferred the plaintiffs remaining breach of contract claim to this court.

The plaintiff filed a new complaint in this court in accordance with this court’s rules. According to Mr. Pappas, in this court he is seeking specific monetary damages, claiming that any equitable remedy to enjoin the government from criminal prosecution has been rendered moot because he has already been convicted, sentenced, imprisoned, and subjected to post release supervision. The government has filed a motion to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, to which the plaintiff has filed a response in opposition.

DISCUSSION

Subject matter jurisdiction may be challenged at any time by the parties, by the court sua sponte, and even on appeal. Fanning, Phillips, Molnar v. West, 160 F.3d 717, 720 (Fed.Cir.1998) (quoting Booth v. United States, 990 F.2d 617, 620 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g denied (1993)); United States v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., 933 F.2d 996, 998 n. 1 (Fed.Cir.1991). A plaintiff must establish jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. Reynolds v. Army and Air Force Exch. Serv., 846 F.2d 746, 748 (Fed.Cir.1988); Thomas v. United States, 56 Fed.Cl. 112, 115 (2003); Martinez v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. 851, 857 (2001), aff'd in part, 281 F.3d 1376 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g denied (2002); Bowen v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. 673, 675 (2001), aff'd, 292 F.3d 1383 (Fed.Cir. 2002); Vanalco, Inc. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. 68, 73 (2000); Alaska v. United States, 32 Fed.Cl. 689, 695 (1995), appeal dismissed, 86 F.3d 1178 (Fed.Cir.1996) (table). When construing the pleadings pursuant to a motion to dismiss, the court should grant the motion only if “it appears beyond doubt that [the plaintiff] can prove no set of facts in support of [the] claim which would entitle [the plaintiff] to relief.” Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Edue., 526 U.S. 629, 654, 119 S.Ct. 1661, 143 L.Ed.2d 839 (1999) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 46, 78 [3]*3S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)); Brubaker Amusement Co. v. United States, 304 F.3d 1349, 1355 (Fed.Cir.2002), cert. denied sub nom. Penn Triple S v. United States, 538 U.S. 921, 123 S.Ct. 1570, 155 L.Ed.2d 311 (2003); Leider v. United States, 301 F.3d 1290, 1295 (Fed.Cir.2002), reh’g and reh’g en banc denied (2002), cert. denied, 538 U.S. 978, 123 S.Ct. 1786, 155 L.Ed.2d 666 (2003); Conti v. United States, 291 F.3d 1334, 1338 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g en banc denied (2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1112, 123 S.Ct. 904, 154 L.Ed.2d 785 (2003); Consol. Edison Co. v. O’Leary, 117 F.3d 538, 542 (Fed.Cir.1997), cert. denied sub nom. Consol. Edison Co. v. Pena, 522 U.S. 1108, 118 S.Ct. 1036, 140 L.Ed.2d 103 (1998); see also New Valley Corp. v. United States, 119 F.3d 1576, 1579 (Fed.Cir.1997), reh’g denied, and reh’g en banc declined (1997); Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Cent. School Dist. v. United States, 48 F.3d 1166, 1169 (Fed.Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 820, 116 S.Ct. 80, 133 L.Ed.2d 38 (1995); Hamlet v. United States, 873 F.2d 1414, 1416 (Fed.Cir.1989); W.R. Cooper Gen. Contractor, Inc. v. United States, 843 F.2d 1362

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66 Fed. Cl. 1, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 200, 2005 WL 1620391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pappas-v-united-states-uscfc-2005.