Schwartz v. United States

16 Cl. Ct. 182, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 6, 1989 WL 2246
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJanuary 17, 1989
DocketNo. 642-87L
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 16 Cl. Ct. 182 (Schwartz v. 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
Schwartz v. United States, 16 Cl. Ct. 182, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 6, 1989 WL 2246 (cc 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

NAPIER, Judge:

This case is brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) by an attorney seeking recovery from the Government of attorney fees he was unable to collect from his client. He alleges that the Government’s refusal to pay his client’s claim in the form of a joint-payee check, payable to the attorney and his client, constitutes a breach of an agreement between himself and the Government. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that the Government violated applicable federal regulations. The complaint asserts that both causes of action render the Government liable for the uncollected contingent fee from plaintiff’s client.

Defendant has filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction or, in the alternative, a motion for summary judgment under Rules 12(b)(1) and 56 respectively, of the RUSCC. Along with the pleadings, outside matters were filed with and reviewed by the Court.

Rule 12(b)(4) RUSCC establishes that where material beyond the pleadings is presented to and not excluded by the Court, a motion to dismiss shall be treated as one for summary judgment. Under the rule, however, that portion of the motion which addresses the Court’s subject-matter jurisdiction remains a motion to dismiss. RUSCC 12(b); 5 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure: Civil § 1366 (1969).

After a review of the pleadings, supporting memoranda and relevant case law, the Court concludes:

(1) that the Court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear plaintiff’s breach of contract action,
(2) that there are no genuine issues of material fact involving plaintiff’s second cause of action, and
(3) that defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law as to plaintiff’s second cause of action.

Both that portion of the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) RUSCC and defendant’s motion for summary judgment under RUSCC 56 are therefore granted, and the complaint must be dismissed.

I. Facts

Plaintiff is a duly licensed attorney admitted to practice in the State of Oregon and before the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). In August 1985 he was retained by Mrs. Linda Slockish to represent her before the BIA.

A brief description of Mrs. Slockish’s underlying claim is necessary to fully understand plaintiff’s complaint. In 1975 a BIA probate judge issued an order by which Mrs. Slockish received a sum of money as the beneficiary of the estate of Mr. Harvey K. Phillips. This money was deposited into Mrs. Slockish’s Individual Indian Account and subsequently withdrawn by Mrs. Slockish. In 1978 the Bureau believed that it had erroneously overpaid Mrs. Slockish in regard to the Phillips estate. However, Mrs. Slockish had no funds in her account to recover for overpayment. In 1981 Mrs. Slockish became the beneficiary of funds from a separate estate also administered under BIA jurisdiction. The BIA withheld $19,000 of these funds, representing the alleged overpayment, plus $6,000 interest. Mrs. Slockish then hired plaintiff in August 1985, claiming that the Government erred in withholding the funds. ■

In exchange for legal services to be rendered by the plaintiff, a contingent fee agreement and an assignment were executed by plaintiff and Mrs. Slockish. The contingent fee agreement stated that plain[184]*184tiff would receive 33.3 percent of Mrs. Slockish’s award if the case were settled without filing suit or a demand for arbitration.

On April 29, 1986, the Comptroller General of the United States issued an opinion on the matter, and BIA repaid Mrs. Sloekish $19,457.26. Thereafter, a warrant for repayment was issued and the BIA transferred the amount from the general Bureau account to Mrs. Slockish’s Individual Indian Account. The day after the money was deposited Mrs. Slockish withdrew the entire amount.

The dispute between plaintiff and defendant arises out of an alleged promise made by Mr. Don Gray of the BIA to plaintiff to issue a joint-payee check in the amount of Mrs. Slockish’s award. In an effort to ensure payment for legal services rendered to Mrs. Slockish, plaintiff had requested that Mr. Gray issue such joint-payee check. According to plaintiff, on or before January 6, 1986, Mr. Gray stated to plaintiff that a joint-payee check would be issued if the Bureau received notarized authorization from Mrs. Slockish. Plaintiff then sent Mr. Gray a copy of the notarized assignment and the contingent fee agreement. BIA thereafter sent plaintiff a letter dated May 8, 1987, which stated that Mrs. Sloekish’s award was transferred to her account in lieu of issuing a joint-payee check. Plaintiff’s complaint asserts that defendant owes him $6,485.42, representing one-third of Mrs. Slockish’s $19,457.26 award, because it breached its promise to issue a joint-payee check.

II. Discussion

A. Rule 12(b)(1) Motion to Dismiss

Defendant moves for dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) RUSCC, asserting that plaintiff’s claim does not satisfy the requirements of the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1), necessary to invoke this Court’s jurisdiction.

This section of the Tucker Act confers jurisdiction upon the Court as follows:

The United States Claims Court shall have jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded either upon the Constitution, or any act of Congress, or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort * * *.

28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1).

In a case such as this, where a party moves to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, the Court must consider the facts alleged in the complaint to be true and correct. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1686, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. v. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., 755 F.2d 1559, 1562 n. 4, (Fed.Cir.), cert. dismissed, 473 U.S. 929, 106 S.Ct. 22, 87 L.Ed.2d 700 (1985).

In his complaint plaintiff states facts allegedly supporting two legal theories under the Tucker Act.

It appears to the Court that the first legal theory upon which plaintiff seeks to recover is that of breach of contract by defendant. Secondly, through its recitation of the facts, plaintiff alleges the violation of an express federal regulation by a Government official. In this latter claim, plaintiff asserts that Mr. Don Gray, a Government official in the New Mexico office of the BIA, acting with statutory authorization and in the course of his employment, expressly promised that a joint-payee check would be issued to plaintiff, which, after reliance thereon by plaintiff, the Government refused to do. (See

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 Cl. Ct. 182, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 6, 1989 WL 2246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schwartz-v-united-states-cc-1989.