Schmidt v. United States

89 Fed. Cl. 111, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 311, 2009 WL 3003666
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedSeptember 16, 2009
DocketNo. 08-771 C
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 89 Fed. Cl. 111 (Schmidt 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
Schmidt v. United States, 89 Fed. Cl. 111, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 311, 2009 WL 3003666 (uscfc 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

HEWITT, Chief Judge.

Before the court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, or, in the Alternative, Motion for Judgment Upon the Administrative Record (defendant’s Motion or Def.’s Mot.); Plaintiffs Corrected Memorandum in Support to Deny Defendant’s Motion[ ] to Dismiss (plaintiffs Response or Pl.’s Resp.); Defendant’s Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Judgment Upon the Administrative Record, and Response to Plaintiff[’s] Motion for Judgment Upon the Administrative Record (defendant’s Reply or Def.’s Reply); and Plaintiffs Errata Response to Defendant’s Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Judgment Upon the Administrative Record, and Response to Plaintifffs] Motion for Judgment Upon the Administrative Record (plaintiffs Reply or Pl.’s Reply). Plaintiffs Response contains a cross-motion for judgment on the Administrative Record. Pl.’s Resp. 15-17 (requesting judgment on the Administrative Record).

1. Background

Plaintiffs claims stem from his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps (Marine Corps)1 in 1989 by reason of medical disability. See Complaint (Compl.) ¶ 6. At the outset, the court will (1) summarize the process the United States Navy (Navy) uses to determine a discharge by reason of medical disability; (2) describe the facts and circumstances of plaintiffs discharge; and (3) discuss the pertinent procedural history that led to plaintiffs Complaint.

A. The Navy’s Disability Evaluation System

Congress provided the Secretary of the Navy (Secretary) with general guidelines for the retirement or separation of Navy personnel due to physical disability in 10 U.S.C. §§ 1201-1222 (2006), but has given the Secretary broad discretion to design the regulations for the disability system, see 10 U.S.C. § 1216(a)-(b) (2006) (“The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out this chapter within his department.... Except [for reasons of age or length of service] the Secretary concerned has all powers, functions, and duties incident to the determination under this chapter_”). The Secretary published regulations for the disability system in the Secretary of the Navy Instruction (SECNAVINST) 1850.4B (Dec. 7,1987).2 [115]*115SECNAVINST 1850.4B established the Navy Disability Evaluation System (DES) which acts on behalf of the Secretary in determining whether a Navy or Marine Corps member has a medical disability and the benefits to which a service member is entitled. See SECNAVINST 1850.4B ¶¶ 101-104 (listing the authorities for the creation of the DES).

A service member claiming a medical disability first appears before a Medical Board which “[f]ormulate[s] conclusions and recommendations regarding the present state of health of members referred to it” and refers cases to the “Central Physical Evaluation Board [ (CPEB) ] for determination of fitness for active duty.” Id. ¶ 504(d)-(e). The CPEB “evaluate^] the [service member’s] physical fitness for active duty.” Id. ¶ 702. The CPEB makes decisions upon review of: (1) “[Medical [B]oard reports and associated documents,” (2) “statements of non-medical information,” and (8) “any other pertinent matters.” Id. ¶ 706(d). During this process a service member must be “counseled, in clearly understandable language, concerning the significance of actions being taken in his or her ease, their probable effect on his or her future, and his or her rights with respect to options available to him or her.” Id. ¶ 218(a). If a service member is determined by the CPEB to be “unfit for duty,” then the CPEB will determine, among other things, the service member’s disability rating “in aceoi'danee with the Veterans Administration 3 Schedule for Rating Disabilities.” Id. ¶ 706(d)(5). The findings of the CPEB do not become final “unless accepted by the member under evaluation.” Id. ¶ 706(g)(1).

When a service member is presented with a report from the CPEB that deems the service member “unfit for duty,” the service member can: (1) “aceept[] the Board decisions and actions,” (2) submit a rebuttal, or (3) “demand[] a formal hearing before a regional physical evaluation board [ (RPEB) ].” Id. If a service member accepts the CPEB’s findings, then the matter is “referred to the Judge Advocate General [ (JAG) ] for legal review” and, in the “absence of legal objection to [the CPEB’s] findings,” the CPEB’s decision becomes final. Id. ¶ 706(j)-(k). If a service member who has been deemed “unfit for duty” requests a formal review of his or her case, the RPEB must conduct a formal hearing. Id. ¶¶ 706(g)(1), 803.

B. Circumstances of Mr. Schmidt’s Case

Plaintiff, Mr. Jeffry Schmidt, served in the Marine Corps from February 24, 19834 until March 1, 1989, when he was honorably discharged at the rank of Corporal. Administrative Record (AR)5 99,107. On November 4, 1988 a Medical Board at the Naval Hospital in Cherry Point, North Carolina, diagnosed Mr. Schmidt with lower back pain. AR 8, 51. Before his diagnosis he had “low back pain for several years” and was “unable to run for over 2-1/2 years while on active service.” AR 8. A few months before his Medical Board evaluation, Mr. Schmidt had a water-skiing accident that increased his lower back pain. Id. During his Medical Board Evaluation Mr. Schmidt also complained of pain in his “left great toe” due to a puncture wound to that toe in 1987 and of “recurrent [116]*116pain in his left shoulder.” Id. The Medical Board concluded that Mr. Schmidt suffered from mechanical “low back pain,” metatarso-phalangeal joint (bilateral) arthralgia and scapulothoracic bursitis (left shoulder). AR 9. Mr. Schmidt did not submit a rebuttal and accepted the Medical Board’s recommendation that his case be forwarded to the CPEB on November 4,1988. See AR 10.

The CPEB found plaintiff unfit for duty by reason of “physical disability.” AR 4. It rated Mr. Schmidt’s lower back condition as 10% disabling. Id. The CPEB also found that Mr. Schmidt’s metatarsophalangeal joint arthralgia and scapulothoracic bursitis were “not separately unfitting and [did] not contribute to the unfitting condition[ ].” Id. Mr. Schmidt was notified of the CPEB’s decision on December 28, 1988. AR 3. On January 25, 1989 Mr. Schmidt formally accepted the CPEB’s decision and acknowledged that he had received his DES counseling pursuant to SECNAVINST 1850.4B 11218. AR 6. On February 8, 1989 the president of the CPEB notified the Commandant of the Marine Corps of the CPEB’s findings and requested that Mr. Schmidt be honorably discharged by reason of physical disability rated at 10%. AR 2. The letter stated that JAG had reviewed Mr. Schmidt’s file and “no legal objection [was] interposed.” Id.; see SECNAVINST 1850.4B ¶ 706(j)-(k) (requiring that all findings of the CPEB be reviewed by JAG).

On March 1, 1989 Mr. Schmidt was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps by reason of physical disability with a 10% disability rating. AR 2, 99. He was given $13,230.22 in severance pay. AR 200.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 Fed. Cl. 111, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 311, 2009 WL 3003666, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schmidt-v-united-states-uscfc-2009.