Opinion ID: 212058
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims

Text: 13 As previously stated, the Tucker Act confers jurisdiction on the Court of Federal Claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) (2000). But the Tucker Act alone does not create a substantive claim against the federal government for money damages. See Martinez v. United States, 333 F.3d 1295, 1302-03 (Fed.Cir.2003) (The actions for which the Tucker Act waives sovereign immunity are ... actions brought pursuant to money-mandating constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations and executive orders. The Tucker Act does not itself provide the substantive cause of action. (internal citations omitted)). 14 No party in this litigation disputes that the FLEPRA is a money-mandating statute. Indeed, the FLEPRA is very explicit as to what is to be paid LEOs. As § 404 of the FLEPRA states, 15 [E]ach law enforcement officer whose post of duty is in one of the [enumerated metropolitan areas] shall receive an adjustment [in their pay], which shall be a percentage of the officer's rate of basic pay.... 16 5 U.S.C. § 5305 note. The statute is clear — if a LEO works in a statutorily defined metropolitan area, that LEO is entitled to a pay adjustment depending on the metropolitan area in which he or she worked. Thus, the FLEPRA is a money-mandating statute. The substantive cause of action in this case is the FLEPRA, but the grant of jurisdiction in the Court of Federal Claims is properly found in the Tucker Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(3). 17 Notwithstanding obvious jurisdiction under the Tucker Act, the appellant in this case argues that because United States v. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 108 S.Ct. 668, 98 L.Ed.2d 830 (1988), gives the Board exclusive jurisdiction over retirement claims brought under the CSRA, and because the statutory definition of law enforcement officer is found in the retirement statutes and a successful showing of LEO status is an element of a 5 U.S.C. § 8336(c) claim for retirement benefits, only the Board (as opposed to the Court of Federal Claims) has jurisdiction to hear a case that turns on the determination of LEO status. This argument, while creative, is unpersuasive. 18 A positive determination of LEO status is a necessary element to successful recovery for both CSRA retirement claims brought before the Board and also for pay adjustment claims brought under the FLEPRA before the Court of Federal Claims. There can be no dispute that CSRA retirement claims must go before the Board and that FLEPRA cases must go before the Court of Federal Claims. And courts have jurisdiction over claims — not over elements of claims. Given that the Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over FLEPRA claims via the Tucker Act, it also has jurisdiction to make the legal and factual determinations necessary to resolving those claims. 19 The government argues that the Court of Federal Claims' jurisdictional finding raises the possibility of contradiction and lack of uniformity in future LEO determinations because the Board will determine LEO status for retirement purposes and the Court of Federal Claims will determine LEO status for FLEPRA purposes. The mere potential for lack of uniformity does not change our jurisdictional analysis. Indeed, it is our task to state the law that must be applied both by the Board and the Court of Federal Claims. Clear guidance from this court can mitigate any risk of contradiction between the Board and the Court of Federal Claims. 20 Furthermore, as the Court of Federal Claims correctly pointed out in Hannon I, Congress merely incorporated the definition of LEO from the retirement statutes into the FLEPRA — in doing so, it did not also incorporate the review mechanisms associated with the retirement statutes. Hannon I, 48 Fed. Cl. at 23. Furthermore, because the Board's jurisdiction is limited, it cannot hear FLEPRA claims. Thus, if the government's position were correct, a claimant would first have to pursue a perhaps undesired retirement claim before the Board in order to be able to litigate his or her FLEPRA pay claim before the Court of Federal Claims. There is no language in the FLEPRA to support such an odd result. And we do not construe statutes in ways that lead to such a result if we can avoid doing so. See, e.g., In re Chapman, 166 U.S. 661, 667, 17 S.Ct. 677, 41 L.Ed. 1154 (1897) ([N]othing is better settled, than that statutes should receive a sensible construction, such as will effectuate the legislative intention, and, if possible, so as to avoid an unjust or an absurd conclusion.). 21 Accordingly, insofar as the question of the jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims to make LEO determinations in deciding FLEPRA claims is concerned, we affirm the Court of Federal Claims' assertion of jurisdiction.