Royce Ainsworth v. The United States

399 F.2d 176, 185 Ct. Cl. 110, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 17, 1968
Docket269-65
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 399 F.2d 176 (Royce Ainsworth v. The 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
Royce Ainsworth v. The United States, 399 F.2d 176, 185 Ct. Cl. 110, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148 (cc 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

LARAMORE, Judge.

This case was before us on the question of liability in Ainsworth v. United States, 180 Ct.Cl. 166 (1967), wherein we granted plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment and denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment. We held that, under the reasoning of Born v. Allen, 110 U.S.App.D.C. 217, 291 F.2d 345 (1960) and Born v. United States, 155 Ct.Cl. 821 (1961), the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) had denied plaintiff the procedural rights to which he was entitled.

There had been a reduction in force in the Washington, D. C. area, and plaintiff’s function was transferred to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Plaintiff was given, but refused to accept, the opportunity to transfer with his function. Plaintiff was neither informed of, nor given an opportunity to pursue, his appeal rights before the Civil Service Commission. We found that, as a veteran who had served for two years as an Accident Investigation Specialist under a temporary appointment pending establishment of a register (TAPER), his appointment was for an “indefinite” term and, therefore, he was entitled to the procedural rights provided for in section 14 of the Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944, ch. 287, 58 Stat. 387, 390-391, as amended, Act of August 19, 1964, P.L. 88-448, title II, § 202, 78 Stat. 486, 5 U. S.C. §§ 861, 863, 864 (1964 Ed.). We held that his separation was improper, and the case was returned to the trial commissioner 1 pursuant to Rule 47(e) (2) for a determination of the amount *179 of recovery. Subsequently, on August 7, 1967, plaintiff was reemployed by the FAA as an Air Safety Investigator (General).

On August 31, 1967, the parties filed a Stipulation to Agreed Matters and to the Contentions of the Parties. They agreed that (1) plaintiff was restored to duty by the FAA on August 7, 1967; (2) the gross amount of back salary, inclusive of increments, to which plaintiff is entitled for the period of his separation from November 24, 1963 through August 6, 1967, totals' $40,028.40; (3) the court should deduct from the $40,-028.40 (a) the sum of $848.97, representing plaintiff’s only outside earnings during the period he was separated, and (b) the sum of $275, representing premiums under the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Act of 1954, ch. 752, 68 Stat. 736, 5 U.S.C. §§ 2091-2103 (1964 Ed.) which should be credited to plaintiff in the Employees’ Life Insurance Fund for the period November 24, 1963 through July 29, 1967; and (4) no amount should be deducted from said gross amount for crediting to plaintiff’s Federal Employees’ Health Benefits because pursuant to the Federal Personnel Manual, subchapter S8-5, Supp. 890-1, he elects not to have his prior enrollment reinstated retroactively. By deducting the $848.97 and $275, the parties agreed that, aside from the disputed items, plaintiff is entitled to a judgment of $38,904.43.

The parties stipulated that three items were unresolved. First, plaintiff claims that he is entitled to the sum of $2,042.28, representing the cash value of 240 hours of accumulated annual leave as of January 1, 1967, and 132 hours of current annual leave which he accrued between January 1 and August 6, 1967 (totaling 372 hours). Plaintiff asks the court to enter a judgment of $40,946.71 (the $38,904.43 agreed to in the stipulation plus the $2,042.28 cash value of annual leave). Defendant, as part of the stipulation, contends that the 372 hours of accumulated and accrued current annual leave can only be credited to plaintiff’s leave account as of August 6, 1967.

Second, defendant contends that the $992.96 lump-sum cash payment which plaintiff received for 214 hours of accumulated and accrued annual leave as of the time of his separation should be deducted from the amount of the court’s judgment for plaintiff.

Third, defendant contends that $915.-07 should be deducted from the judgment as retroactive taxes (for the period November 24, 1963 through August 6, 1967) which defendant is obliged to collect pursuant to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), as amended, 79 Stat. 382, 393, 26 U.S.C. §§ 3102, 3122 (Supp. II, 1964 Ed.).

Neither the stated total number of hours of accumulated and accrued leave, nor the amounts of money involved in the three items in controversy, are disputed by the parties. In essence, plaintiff contends that he is entitled to a judgment of $40,946.71 ($38,904.43 plus $2,042.28), and defendant contends that plaintiff is entitled to a net judgment of only $36,996.40 ($38,904.43 less $915.07 and less $992.96).

Following a pretrial conference both parties advised the trial commissioner that they would neither introduce additional evidence, nor file requested findings of fact, and that they would rely on the facts contained in the above-mentioned stipulation and their legal memo-randa submitted in support of their respective positions. In addition, they asked the trial commissioner to close proof.

The trial commissioner closed proof by order, filed November 20, 1967. Prior thereto, plaintiff filed a motion for the entry of a partial summary judgment in the net amount of $36,996.-40 (defendant admitted plaintiff was entitled to that amount). Defendant opposed the motion, and it was denied by the court, by order dated December 18, 1967.

On February 5, 1968, Trial Commissioner Stone filed his opinion and rec *180 ommended conclusion of law wherein he found that (1) plaintiff is not entitled to the cash equivalent of his accumulated leave, but that he is entitled to a credit; and (2) that judgment should be entered for $36,996.40 after deducting both FICA taxes and the lump-sum payment for accumulated and current accrued annual leave paid to plaintiff at the time of his separation.

We agree with the commissioner’s conclusions, but we reach the same results for different reasons.

I.

The threshold and dispositive question presented is whether plaintiff’s recovery is limited by the Back Pay Act of 1966, P.L. 89-380, § 3, 80 Stat. 95.

Section 3 of the Back Pay Act reads, in pertinent part:

Each * * * employee of an agency who, on the basis of an administrative determination or a timely appeal, is found, on or after the date of enactment of this Act, by appropriate authority under applicable law or regulation to have undergone an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action taken prior to, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act, which has resulted in the withdrawal or reduction of all or any part of the pay, allowances, or differentials of such * * employee—
(1) shall be entitled, upon correction of such personnel action,

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Bluebook (online)
399 F.2d 176, 185 Ct. Cl. 110, 1968 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/royce-ainsworth-v-the-united-states-cc-1968.