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# frltrul @lsfmg No. 16-1660C (Pro Se) 

### Filed: February 

### 22,2017 |

### Not for Publication

ESTATE OF 

### MATTHEW GRANT et al.



### Plaintifl

THE 

### UNITED STATES OF

### AMERICA, Defendant. 

### Keywords: Federal Rules

### of

### Civil Procedure; Rules

### ofthe Court 

### ofFederal Claims; Default Judgment; RCFC 55; Subject 

### Matter Jurisdiction.



# FILED FEB

# 22 2017 U.S. COURT OF FEDERAL CI.4IMS 

### Gary Grant, Halifax, NC, 

### Plaintiff Pro Se. 

### Michael A. Rodriguez, 

### Trial Attomey, Commercial 

### Litigation Branch, 

### Civil Division, Department 

### of Justice, Washington, 

### DC, for Defendant, 

### with whom were Deborah 

### A. Bynum, Assistant 

### Director, Robert E. Kirschman, -/r., 

### Director,

### wfi ChadA. Readler, 

### Actins Assistant 

### Attomey General. 

### OPINION AND ORDER KAPLAN, Judge. 

# I. Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment On February 

### 13,2017, 

### Plaintiffsfiled a

### motion for default

### judgment. Docket 

### No. g. 

### Plaintiffs allegethat seven 

### individual defendants were "served 

### with process on December 19, 

### 2016," and that 

### "[u]nder the Federal Rules

### of 

### Civil Procedure," each

### of them was required 

### to

### file an answer by Janu aty 6,2017

. 

### Pls.' 

### Mot. for Default J. 

### at 1.The govemment 

### filed a iesponse on 

### February 17 ,2017 , 

### in which 

### it argued that 

### Plaintiffs' motion is 

### "premature," because 

### Rule 

### 12(a)(l)(A) 

### ofthe Rules

### of the

### courr of Federal

### claims (RCFC) provides 

### sixty days 

### for the govemment 

### to

### file an answer 

### to a

### complaint. 

### Def.'s Resp. 

### at 1, Docket 

### No. 10.

### Additionally, the govemment asserts that 

### Plaintiffs' motion is meritless because the 

### United States is the 

### onlv proper defendant 

### in the Court 

### of Federal Claims. 

### Id. at 2. The 

### RCFC "govem the procedure 

### in the 

### United States

### court of Federal 

### claims in all suits." RCFC 1; see also 28 

### u.s.c. $2071 

### (providing that

## 'all courts established by

### Act 

### of congress may 

### from time to

### time prescribe rules 

### for the conduct 

### oftheir 

### businesst: za

### u.s.c. $2503 (stating that "proceedings 

### ofthe Court 

### of Federal 

### Claims shall be 

### in accordance 

### with such rules

### ofpractice and procedure

. . . asthe 

### court ofFederal claims may 

### prescribe"). Under theRCFC, the 

### "United States must

### file an answer 

### to a

### complaint 

### within 60 days after being served



### with the 

### complaint." RCFC 

### l2(axl)(A.).1 Here, 

### Plaintiffs filed their complaint on December 

### 19,2016. Docket 

### No. 

### l. Pursuant 

### to RCFC 4(c), the date 

### of

### filing is also the date

### of service.

### Accordingly, the 

### govemment's answer was 

### originally due by 

### February 17,2017. See 

### RCFC 

### 12(a)(1\A). Thus, 

### Plaintiffs' motion, 

### filed February 13,2017, was premature, and 

### Plaintiffs' allegation that an answer was due 

### by January 

### 6,2077 is incorrect. 

### Moreover, on 

### February 16,2017, the govemment 

### filed a 

### motion seeking an extension 

### of time

### within which to

### file its answer. Docket 

### No. 9. The Court granted that 

### motion and the 

### govemment's answer is not due 

### until

### April 18, 2017. Docket 

### No. 11. For these reasons, 

### Plaintiffs' motion for a default

### judgment is 

### DENIED. 

# II. Subject 

### Matter Jurisdiction Over 

### Individual Defendants The Court may raise subject matter

### jurisdiction sua sponte at any 

### time. 

### Rick's Mushroom Serv.. 

### Inc.v. 

### United States 

### , 521 F

### .3d 133

### 8, 1346 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2008) 

### (citation omitted); seealso 

### Arbaush v.

### Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 506 

### (2006) (notingthat an

### objectiontofederal 

### court subject matter j

### urisdiction may be raised 

### by a court on its 

### own 

### initiative at any stage 

### in the 

### litigation). 

### "If the court determines at any 

### time that 

### it lacks subject-matter

### jurisdiction, the 

### court must dismiss the 

### action." RCFC 12(h)(3); see also 

### Arbaush, 546 

### U.S. 

### at50647,514 (stating that 

### "courts

. . . have an independent 

### obligation to determine whether subject-matter

### jurisdiction exists, even in the absence

### of a challenge 

### from any 

### party"). The Court has no

### jurisdiction over claims against any defendant other than the 

### United States. See 

### United States 

### v. Sherwood, 312 

### U.S. 584, 588 (1941) 

### (,[I]fthe relief sought is against others than the 

### United States the suit asto them must be ignored as beyondthe 

### jurisdiction 

### ofthe court."); Jiron v. 

### United States, 118 Fed. 

### Cl. 190, 

### 198-99 (2014) 

### (,,It is

### well settled thatthe 

### United States is the 

### only proper defendant in the 

### United States Court 

### of Federal 

### Claims." (quotation 

### omitted)). Therefore, 

### Plaintiffs' claims against 

### all defendants other than the 

### United States are 

### DISMISSED for lack of subject matter

### jurisdiction. 

### CONCLUSION Forthe reasons set

### forth above, 

### Plaintiffs' motion for a default

### judgment is 

### DENIED and 

### Plaintiffs' claims against 

### all defendants otherthanthe 

### United States are 

### DiSMISSED without prejudice.



### I In any event, the

### court notes that Fed. R.

### civ. p. 12(a)(2) provides 

### that.,[t]he united states

. . . must serve an answer 

### to a

### complaint

. . .

### within 60 days after service on the 

### United States 

### attomey."

### IT IS SO 

### ORDERED. 

# u

ELAINE D. Judge