Opinion ID: 2685740
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: District Court Suit

Text: On November 1, 2010, Havens filed this suit against the Secretary in the district court for the District of Columbia. Havens’s amended complaint alleged, inter alia, that he “was improperly released from active duty in 1996 despite being medically unfit for release,” Am. Compl. ¶ 95, that the PEB incorrectly evaluated him under the Physically Qualified/Not Physically Qualified standard (instead of the Fit/Unfit standard), see id. ¶ 81, and that the BCNR violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq., and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution by denying Havens’s record correction applications, see Am. Compl. ¶¶ 98-103. Notably, the amended complaint disclaimed Havens’s right to “pre-judgment retroactive monetary payments” and acknowledged that “prospective monetary benefits must be obtained through the [relevant] administrative avenues.” Id. ¶¶ 106-07. As relief, Havens requested the court to direct the Secretary and the BCNR “to correct his records to reflect that he should have been medically retired to a date as determined by this court.” Id. ¶ 108. The Secretary moved to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. In the alternative, the Secretary sought summary judgment; Havens cross-moved for summary judgment in part. The Secretary argued that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because Havens’s suit was an action for money damages that could be brought only in the Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act. The Secretary also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction because Havens’s complaint was filed outside the APA’s six-year statute of limitations, which, like the Tucker Act’s statute of limitations, is jurisdictional in nature. See 28 11 U.S.C. § 2401(a) (six-year statute of limitations); Muwekma Ohlone Tribe v. Salazar, 708 F.3d 209, 218 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (“The court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear a claim barred by section 2401(a).”). Finally, the Secretary asserted that Havens’s complaint failed to state a claim because it was barred by the Court of Federal Claims dismissal under res judicata. The court concluded that the Tucker Act did not deprive it of jurisdiction but agreed with the Secretary that the suit was barred by res judicata and therefore dismissed the complaint. It did not rule on the statute of limitations question. Havens now appeals.11 11 Although the Secretary does not press on appeal his Tucker Act and APA statute of limitations arguments, we address them as they both implicate the district court’s jurisdiction. See Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 73 (1997) (“[E]very federal appellate court has a special obligation to satisfy itself not only of its own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts in a cause under review, even though the parties are prepared to concede it. And if the record discloses that the lower court was without jurisdiction this court will notice the defect, although the parties make no contention concerning it.” (quotation marks and citation omitted)); accord Riley v. Titus, 190 F.2d 653, 655 (D.C. Cir. 1951) (“[T]his court may raise, sua sponte, defects of the District Court’s jurisdiction which are apparent on the face of the record.”). We conclude that the district court’s dismissal cannot be affirmed in toto using either of these alternative grounds. See, e.g., Malladi Drugs & Pharm., Ltd. v. Tandy, 552 F.3d 885, 892 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (affirming dismissal on alternative ground). First, like the district court, we believe Havens’s suit is not a Tucker Act damages action that can be brought only in the Court of Federal Claims because Havens does not seek monetary relief, see Am. Compl. ¶¶ 106-08, and the injunctive relief he seeks––disability retirement status––has considerable value that is independent of any future financial benefits flowing from a disability designation, see Tootle v. Sec’y of Navy, 446 F.3d 167, 176 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (suit is not damages action properly belonging in CFC if party seeks only injunctive relief with 12