NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

 

United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________ 

CLIFFORD HILAIRE,

Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

UNITED STATES,

Defendant-Appellee

______________________ 

2021-2295

______________________ 

Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims 

in No. 1:20-cv-02023-MBH, Senior Judge Marian Blank 

Horn.

______________________ 

Decided: February 9, 2022

______________________ 

CLIFFORD HILAIRE, Waldorf, MD, pro se. 

 ERIC JOHN SINGLEY, Commercial Litigation Branch,

Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendant-appellee. Also represented by 

BRIAN M. BOYNTON, DEBORAH ANN BYNUM, PATRICIA M.

MCCARTHY. 

 ______________________ 

Before NEWMAN, REYNA, and CHEN, Circuit Judges.

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2 HILAIRE v. US

PER CURIAM. 

Pro se Appellant Clifford Hilaire appeals a judgment 

by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissing Hilaire’s

action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

On August 31, 2005, Hilaire enlisted in the United 

States Air Force for a six-year term as an aerial porter. 

J.A. 57–59. The record shows that Hilaire, having no prior 

service record, was entitled to a non-prior service (“NPS”)

enlistment bonus of $7833.01, which he should have received at the first six anniversaries of his enlistment in the 

amounts of $1333.33, $1333.33, $1333.33, $1166.34, 

$1333.33, and $1333.35, respectively. J.A. 91, 100–01.

Hilaire did not receive any NPS enlistment bonus payments. In 2014, he filed a request with the Air Force Board 

for the Correction of Military Records (“Board”), seeking to 

receive his bonus payments retroactively. See J.A. 52–54. 

On August 28, 2015, the Board agreed that Hilaire qualified for a NPS enlistment bonus contingent on his submission of an English-translated version of his high school 

diploma. Id. In March 2016, Hilaire submitted the requested diploma. J.A. 63, 69. 

On January 13, 2020, Hilaire submitted a new application to the Board seeking to have his bonus distributed to 

his thrift savings plan (“TSP”) account. J.A. 77–78. In 

April 2020, while that application remained pending, the 

Air Force informed Hilaire that it could not distribute the 

money to his TSP account, but that payment would be processed if he provided direct deposit information via Standard Form 1199a. J.A. 75–76. Hilaire refused to provide 

direct deposit information at that time because he believed 

that doing so would interfere with his request pending before the Board. J.A. 73–75. Subsequently, in an undated 

letter, the Board denied Hilaire’s request to have his bonus 

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HILAIRE v. US 3

retroactively applied to his TSP account because the request was “not viable.” J.A. 79.

On December 22, 2020, Hilaire initiated this action in 

the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking an order that the 

Air Force pay Hilaire his bonus, plus interest, into his TSP 

account. See J.A. 1–5, 20–21. On August 15, 2021, the 

Court of Federal Claims dismissed the action for lack of 

subject-matter jurisdiction after determining that: (1) to 

the extent Hilaire asserts an entitlement to his enlistment 

bonus, the issue is conceded by the government and moot; 

(2) Hilaire is not entitled to having the money distributed 

to his TSP account; (3) Hilaire is not entitled to interest; 

and (4) to the extent Hilaire brought his action pursuant to 

the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), the Court of 

Federal Claims lacks jurisdiction. J.A. 1–17. Hilaire appeals. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1295(a)(3).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review the Court of Federal Claims’s legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. Casitas Mun. Water Dist. v. United States, 708 F.3d 1340, 

1351 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (citing Estate of Hage v. United 

States, 687 F.3d 1281, 1285 (Fed. Cir. 2012)). Whether the 

Court of Federal Claims properly dismissed a complaint for 

lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is a question of law, 

which we review de novo. Anaheim Gardens v. United 

States, 444 F.3d 1309, 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2006).

DISCUSSION

Hilaire contends that he is entitled to have his enlistment bonus deposited into his TSP account because he 

elected to designate TSP contributions in 2016 and because 

he submitted his high school diploma to the Air Force in 

March 2016. Appellant’s Br. 9–10. According to Hilaire, 

he is entitled to this specific relief pursuant to the APA 

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4 HILAIRE v. US

because the Air Force has taken an unreasonable amount 

of time to pay Hilaire his bonus. Id.

Whether Hilaire is entitled to retroactively receive his 

bonus into his TSP account depends on his TSP contribution elections for the years in which he would have received 

the bonus payments, not the year in which he submitted 

his diploma. 5 C.F.R. § 1605.13(b)(1) (“The participant will 

be entitled to make up contributions for the period covered 

by the back pay award or retroactive pay adjustment only 

if for that period . . . [t]he participant had designated a percentage of basic pay to be contributed to the TSP.”). The 

record shows that Hilaire made no TSP elections for the 

first six years of his service, i.e., the years he should have 

received his NPS enlistment bonus payments. J.A. 80–82. 

Consequently, Hilaire is not entitled to retroactive deposits 

into his TSP account. See 5 C.F.R. § 1605.13(b)(1).

Additionally, the Court of Federal Claims does not 

have jurisdiction over APA claims; such claims must be 

brought before a federal district court. Lion Raisins, Inc. 

v. United States, 416 F.3d 1356, 1370 n.11 (Fed. Cir. 2005) 

(citing Crocker v. United States, 125 F.3d 1475, 1476 

(Fed. Cir. 1997) (“[N]o APA review is available in the Court 

of Federal Claims.”). Thus, insofar as Hilaire argues that 

“[t]his lawsuit was about a review under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),” Appellant’s Br. 10, the Court of 

Federal Claims properly dismissed this action for lack of 

subject-matter jurisdiction.

Hilaire maintains that he is entitled to a $15,000 NPS 

enlistment bonus because in June 2016, the Air Force began processing a bonus of $15,000. J.A. 70. The government speculates this was an administrative error that 

occurred because the maximum allowable NPS enlistment 

bonus, according to applicable regulations, had increased 

from $8000 to $15,000 in October 2005. See Appellee’s 

Br. 4 n.2; J.A. 71–72. Hilaire argued before the Court of 

Federal Claims that he was entitled to the higher 

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HILAIRE v. US 5

maximum bonus of $15,000 because he attended basic 

training after October 2005. See Hilaire v. United States, 

2021 WL 4144994, at *11 (Fed. Cl. Aug. 15, 2021); J.A. 15. 

However, the maximum bonus to which Hilaire is entitled 

is based on the date of his enlistment—in this case, August 31, 2005. See Air Force Instruction 36-2638, Air Force 

Reserve Enlisted Incentives (Jan. 26, 2005) [hereinafter, 

AFI 36-2638]; J.A. 91. Based on the statute and regulation 

in effect on Hilaire’s enlistment date, he is eligible for a 

NPS enlistment bonus no greater than $8000. See 

37 U.S.C. § 308c (2004) (statute setting maximum of 

$10,000 for NPS enlistment bonuses, subject to applicable 

regulations); AFI 36-2638 (regulation setting maximum of 

$8000 for NPS enlistment bonuses).

The record is unclear as to why the Air Force has not 

paid Hilaire the NPS bonus to which it agrees he is entitled. Apparently, the Air Force should pay Hilaire,

promptly, upon his completion of a Standard Form 1199a. 

Nonetheless, the Court of Federal Claims properly dismissed this case. Hilaire cannot establish any entitlement 

to a principal bonus greater than $8000, to interest, or to 

having his bonus paid into his TSP account. The judgment 

of the Court of Federal Claims is affirmed. 

AFFIRMED

COSTS

No costs.

Case: 21-2295 Document: 20 Page: 5 Filed: 02/09/2022