Sato v. United States

33 Fed. Cl. 818, 1995 U.S. Claims LEXIS 162, 1995 WL 495227
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedAugust 14, 1995
DocketNos. 94-558C, 94-582C
StatusPublished

This text of 33 Fed. Cl. 818 (Sato 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
Sato v. United States, 33 Fed. Cl. 818, 1995 U.S. Claims LEXIS 162, 1995 WL 495227 (uscfc 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

MOODY R. TIDWELL, III, Judge:

This case is before the court on the parties’ cross motions for summary judgement, filed pursuant to RCFC 56(c). Plaintiffs sought to recover $20,000 pursuant to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (Act), 50 U.S.C.App. § 1989b to 1989b-8 (1988), which provided payment to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were deprived of liberty or property resulting from actions taken by the United States government during World War II. The Department of Justice (DOJ), the Agency charged with administering the funds, determined that plaintiffs were ineligible for compensation under the Act. Plaintiffs sought a reversal of DOJ’s denial of redress pursuant to its regulations, and a finding that DOJ’s interpretation under the regulations is unconstitutional, arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law and not based upon historical fact. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants plaintiffs’ motion and denies defendant’s motion.

FACTS

Plaintiffs Scarlett Sato and Paul Nakabayashi, are citizens of the United States. Ms. Scarlett Sato was born in Brighton, Colorado on September 8, 1942; she is the daughter of Helen Umetani and George Umetani. Mr. Paul M. Nakabayashi was born in Denver, Colorado on June 17, 1944; he is the son of Frank and Grace Nakabayashi. Plaintiffs and their parents are persons of Japanese ancestry and native born citizens of the United States. All were domiciled in and resided in the State of California.

On March 2, 1942, Public Proclamation No. 1 was promulgated, pursuant to Executive Order 9066, dated February 19, 1942. The proclamation established Military Areas Numbers 1 and 2 and announced the impending exclusion of persons of Japanese ancestry from Military Area No. 1, which included Los Angeles, California, Sonoda v. United States (1961) 154 Ct.Cl. 130, 134-135, 1961 WL 8731. Between the issuance of Public Proclamation Nos. 1 and 4, many Japanese Americans then living in Military Area No. 1, to avoid imminent mandatory detention, fled from their west coast homes. Japanese Americans who evacuated the west coast pri- or to March 27, 1942, did not have unconditionally free movement into the interior, but were required to register their anticipated destinations with a sub-agency of the military, the federal Wartime Civil Control Administration. Among the persons who involuntarily evacuated California during March 1942 were the Umetani family of Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles and the Nakabayashi family of Mountain View, California.

Helen Umetani, who was 22 years old during World War II, was pregnant at the time she and her husband George Umetani involuntarily evacuated Terminal Island. The Umetanis eventually relocated in Colorado, [820]*820as did many Japanese American families leaving the west coast in March 1942. Mrs. Umetani gave birth to plaintiff, Scarlett Rumano Umetani, on September 8, 1942. Frank and Grace Nakabayashi, along with their six-month old infant daughter, were forced by the federal government to evacuate from Mountain View and also relocated in Colorado. Plaintiff Paul Nakabayashi was born in Denver on June 17, 1944.

The alleged “involuntary” relocation of the family to Colorado resulted in great hardship for the Umetani and Nakabayashi families. For example, health services were not readily available to the Umetani family when infant Scarlett contracted scarlet fever. In addition, the adult males in the Nakabayashi family could find work only in agriculture, and the seven members of the family lived in a small room.

On August 10, 1988, Congress enacted the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provides monetary redress to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were adversely affected by certain actions taken by, or on behalf of, the United States Government during World War II. 50 U.S.C.App. § 1989b-7(2)(B). The Act was adopted as an acknowledgement of an official apology for the fundamental injustice of the government’s policy of evacuation, relocation, and internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II. 50 U.S.C.App. § 1989(1) and (2).

The Act defines the term “eligible individual” as follows:

“Eligible individual” means any individual of Japanese ancestry who is living on the date of the enactment of this Act [August 10, 1988] and who, during the evacuation, relocation, and internment period [December 7, 1941 to June 30, 1946]—
(A) was a United States citizen or a permanent resident alien; and
(B) (i) was confined, held in custody, relocated, or otherwise deprived of liberty or property as a result of [the laws and orders associated with Executive Order No. 9066 in effect during World War II].

50 U.S.C.App. § 1989b-7(2).

Under the Act, the Attorney General is responsible for identifying, locating, and paying the sum of $20,000 as compensation to each “eligible individual.” 50 U.S.C.App. § 1989b-4(a) and (b). Pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 74.1-.17, the Attorney General, through the Office of Redress Administration, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice (ORA), notifies individuals of their potential eligibility and verifies their claims upon receipt of certain background information. If the ORA determines that a person is ineligible, that person has the right to seek reconsideration of such a determination from the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. A claimant may appeal any adverse decision by the Assistant Attorney General to the Court of Federal Claims. Suzuki v. United States, 29 Fed.Cl. 688, 690 (1993); 50 U.S.C.App. § 1989b-4(h).

On August 25, 1992, the ORA denied plaintiffs’ claims for compensation, concluding that they were not eligible because their “losses were not the result of government action as defined in the Act and the implementing regulations.”

On August 27, 1992, Mr. Nakabayashi requested reconsideration of the agency’s denial of compensation from the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, as did Ms. Sato on October 12, 1992. The Assistant Attorney General denied Mr. Nakabayashi’s and Ms. Sato’s reconsideration requests on May 6, 1993, and October 13, 1993, respectively. On August 22, 1994, Ms. Sato filed a complaint with this court, challenging the DOJ’s denial of her claim for compensation under the Act. Mr. Nakabayashi filed a similar complaint on September 6, 1994. The court subsequently consolidated these two complaints. On January 17, 1995, Sato and Nakabayashi filed a motion for summary judgement, seeking review of the Assistant Attorney General’s denial of their claims. Defendant filed a cross motion on March 20, 1995. The issue in both motions was whether children born after their parents’ involuntarily relocation are eligible for recovery under the Act.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgement is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material [821]*821fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgement as a matter of law. RCFC 56(c). In evaluating a motion for summary judgement, any doubt as to whether a genuine issue of material fact exists must be resolved in favor of the non-moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 158-59, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608-09, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Campbell v. United States, 2 Cl.Ct. 247, 249 (1983).

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Related

Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
398 U.S. 144 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Prineville Sawmill Company, Inc. v. The United States
859 F.2d 905 (Federal Circuit, 1988)
Douglas L. Ishida v. United States
59 F.3d 1224 (Federal Circuit, 1995)
Suzuki v. United States
29 Fed. Cl. 688 (Federal Claims, 1993)
Ishida v. United States
31 Fed. Cl. 280 (Federal Claims, 1994)
Campbell v. United States
2 Cl. Ct. 247 (Court of Claims, 1983)
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. United States
17 Cl. Ct. 537 (Court of Claims, 1989)
Corman v. United States
38 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,407 (Court of Claims, 1992)
Sonoda v. United States
154 Ct. Cl. 130 (Court of Claims, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
33 Fed. Cl. 818, 1995 U.S. Claims LEXIS 162, 1995 WL 495227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sato-v-united-states-uscfc-1995.