Vincent v. United States, 17-973

Plaintiff Claude Phillip Vincent, proceeding pro se, sued the United States seeking $900,000 for alleged misconduct by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees arising from Vincent’s omission from VA hearings in January and April 2016.
Vincent alleged federal criminal and civil rights violations, deprivation of due process, and torts related to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals hearing on April 18, 2016.
He filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis; the court granted it for the limited purpose of resolving jurisdiction.
The government moved to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under RCFC 12(b)(1). Vincent acknowledged this court lacks jurisdiction and requested transfer or permission to refile in a U.S. District Court.
The court determined Vincent’s claims are tort, criminal, civil-rights, and due-process claims that fall outside the Court of Federal Claims’ jurisdiction and that transfer to a district court or the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) is not available here.
The court granted the government’s motion, dismissed the complaint without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction, and entered judgment for the defendant.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over claims alleging VA employees committed torts, criminal acts, civil-rights violations, and due-process violations related to veterans benefits	Vincent sought monetary relief ($900,000) for alleged misconduct and constitutional and statutory violations arising from VA hearings	The Court of Federal Claims lacks jurisdiction over torts, criminal prosecutions, §1983-style civil-rights claims, and Fifth Amendment Due Process claims; such claims are not within 28 U.S.C. §1491(a)(1)	Dismissed: court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction under RCFC 12(b)(1)
Whether the court should transfer the case to a federal district court under 28 U.S.C. §1631	Vincent requested transfer or permission to refile in a district court	Transfer is improper because Congress assigned these types of veterans-benefits-related claims to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; this court cannot transfer to the CAVC and district courts are not the correct forum	Denied: transfer not permitted by law; dismissal without prejudice stands

Campbell v. United States, 229 Ct. Cl. 706 (1981) (Court of Federal Claims lacks jurisdiction over criminal claims)
Marlin v. United States, 63 Fed. Cl. 475 (2005) (§1983-style civil-rights claims are not cognizable in the Court of Federal Claims)
Joshua v. United States, 17 F.3d 378 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (Due Process Clause claims are outside the Court of Federal Claims’ jurisdiction)
Addington v. United States, 94 Fed. Cl. 779 (2010) (veterans-benefits disputes of this type are for the CAVC)
Davis v. United States, 36 Fed. Cl. 556 (1996) (distinguishing fora for veterans-benefits claims)
Jackson v. United States, 80 Fed. Cl. 560 (2008) (Court of Federal Claims cannot transfer cases to the CAVC)