Terry v. U.S. Small Business Administration

699 F. Supp. 2d 49, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30077, 2010 WL 1189648
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 29, 2010
DocketCivil Action 10-365 (ESH)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 699 F. Supp. 2d 49 (Terry v. U.S. Small Business Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terry v. U.S. Small Business Administration, 699 F. Supp. 2d 49, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30077, 2010 WL 1189648 (D.D.C. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLEN SEGAL HUVELLE, District Judge.

The Court has before it the motion by defendants U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and SBA Administrator Karen Mills to dismiss the pro se complaint filed by Gary Ivan Terry. 1 In this action, plaintiff seeks to (1) hold unlawful and set aside agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, by requiring defendants to reverse their 2000 decision declaring plaintiffs’ two SBA-guaranteed small business loans to be in default, and (2) obtain declaratory and injunctive relief “to prevent further infringement of [plaintiffs] property rights and violations of 605(a) of the Contract Disputes Act” (“CDA”), 41 U.S.C. §§ 601-613. (Compl. ¶ 9; see also id. at 107.) For the reasons discussed herein, defendants’ motion to dismiss will be granted for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, 2 and plaintiffs other outstanding motions will be denied as moot. 3

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, a resident of North Carolina, is the president and chief executive officer of Scat, Inc. (“Scat”), a North Carolina corporation that plaintiff formed in 1994. (Complin 3-4, 33.) Scat manufactures above-ground storage systems for petroleum substances. (Id. ¶ 4.) Less than a year later, plaintiff incorporated 1103 Nor-walk Street, L.L.C. under North Carolina law. (Id. ¶ 35.) Plaintiff financed both of these enterprises through small business loans obtained from, respectively, North Carolina-based secured creditors Branch, Bank & Trust, Co. (“BB & T”) and RBC Bank (“RBC”). (Id. ¶¶ 33, 35.) The SBA guaranteed 85% of both loans, which were also secured by plaintiffs personal guarantees. (Id.)

In July 1995, the U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”) awarded a procurement contract to plaintiff and Scat. (Compl. ¶ 36.) On September 8, 1997, a GSA contracting officer “issue[d] a final decision establishing a claim [against plaintiff and Scat] for a contract debt of $545,161.20” for overpayment on duplicate *51 orders (“the overpayment claim”). 4 (Id. ¶ 45.) This claim determination allegedly failed to inform plaintiff “of [his] due process rights to appeals under § 605(a)” of the CD A. (Id.) In October 1999, the United States sued plaintiff and Scat in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in a civil action arising from the purported overpayments. (Id. ¶¶ 67-68.) See Complaint, United States v. Scat, Inc., No. 99-CV1053 (W.D.Mo. Oct. 29, 1999). Plaintiff, who was then represented by counsel, raised the affirmative defense that the government’s dispute was subject to the CDA and, consequently, subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims. (Comply 80.) 5 On June 21, 2000, GSA notified plaintiff that it was cancelling his contract. (See id. ¶ 108.) On June 27, plaintiff, the SBA, and BB & T agreed to a six-month deferment on plaintiffs loans at his request. (Id. ¶ 191.)

In July 2000, federal grand jury proceedings were instituted in the Western District of Missouri. (Compl. ¶¶ 120-133; see also Pl.’s Mem. of P. & A. in Supp. of Mot. for Leave to File Am. Compl. (“PL’s Mem. for Leave to File”) at 2.) Plaintiff alleges that federal prosecutors engaged in a variety of misconduct to procure the indictment, including the concealment of “critical ‘exculpatory’ material evidence,” such as the fact that the GSA contracting officer failed to notify plaintiff of his administrative appellate rights, which in turn, according to plaintiff, rendered the overpayment determination invalid and therefore “not a proper basis” upon which to prosecute plaintiff. (Compl.lffl 128-133.) On August 3, 2000, plaintiff and Scat were indicted on 19 counts of false claims, theft of government property, false statements, and obstruction of justice. (Id. ¶ 134.) See United States v. Terry, No. 00-CR-308 (W.D.Mo. filed Aug. 3, 2000). According to plaintiff, the indictment was also “based on the merits of the determinations made within the [GSA] contracting officer’s final administrative decision or order” related to the overpayment claim, and thus the prosecutors indicted him without probable cause. (Id. ¶¶ 135-136.) Plaintiff also alleges that his privately retained defense attorney colluded with the prosecutor to “devise[ ] a scheme to conceal[ ]” the contracting officer’s supposed failure to apprise plaintiff of his right to administratively appeal the overpayment determination. (Id. ¶ 155; see also id. ¶ 153.)

On September 26, 2000, plaintiff ap-' peared with his attorney before a magistrate judge and pled guilty to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of justice. (See Compl. ¶¶ 158, 177, 182.) He alleges that as with the indictment, “[t]he evidence in support of said pleas of guilty was based upon the merits of’ the GSA contracting officer’s overpayment determination. (Id. ¶ 183.) In October, the SBÁ informed BB & T and RBC that plaintiff had been indicted. (Id. ¶¶ 192,199.) Following plaintiffs plea, BB & T requested the SBA’s concurrence to issue a demand letter to Scat “[d]ue to the indictment, and the past due status of SCAT’S September 27, 2000 payment----” (See PL’s Opp’n to Mot. to Dismiss (“PL’s Opp’n”), Ex. 1.) Shortly thereafter, the loans were declared to be in default. (See Compl. ¶ 201.) BB & T and RBC, “with the knowledge and concurrences of SBA, *52 foreclosed on all of their assets,” leading plaintiff to file for bankruptcy protection. (Id. ¶ 203,)

On September 26, 2001, plaintiff appeared with his attorney before the district judge for sentencing. (ComplV 235.) He was sentenced to 15 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution. See Judgment, Terry, No. 00-CR-308 (W.D.Mo. Oct. 5, 2001). (See also Compl. ¶¶256, 259.) On June 20, 2002, the district court denied plaintiffs motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate or correct his sentence and to withdraw his plea, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied his request for a certificate of appealability. See Order at 1, Terry, No. 02-CV-64 (W.D.Mo. May 29, 2002), appeal dismissed, No. 02-2637 (8th Cir. Oct. 4, 2002). 6 (See also Compl.

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Bluebook (online)
699 F. Supp. 2d 49, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30077, 2010 WL 1189648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terry-v-us-small-business-administration-dcd-2010.