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Keywords

tortjurisdictionstatutemotionregulationstatute of limitationsseizuremotion to dismiss

tortplaintiffjurisdictionstatutetrialmotionregulationstatute of limitationsseizure

Related Cases

Livingston v. United States, 167 Fed.Cl. 604

Facts

John Livingston, a former Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army, filed a complaint against the United States claiming that his personal property was unlawfully seized during a criminal investigation by the Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID) in 2016. The CID seized over 200 tools and other items from his residence, alleging they were stolen. After a court-martial, Livingston was acquitted of most charges but was denied the return of his property. He filed a claim for compensation under the Tucker Act, which was dismissed by the court.

Plaintiff, John Livingston, filed his complaint in the above captioned case pursuant to the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) (2018) , for an alleged “taking” of his personal property pursuant to the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution which plaintiff alleges “requires compensation.” Plaintiff, who was formerly in the United States Army, alleges that he “is entitled to the sum of $21,440.21, or such greater sum as proven at trial,” equal to the cost of replacing personal property plaintiff alleges was seized by the Army during a criminal investigation and subsequent court-martial, and which property plaintiff alleges has not been returned.

Issue

Did the initial seizure of Livingston's property constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment, and when did the statute of limitations for his claim begin to run?

1 initial seizure of property did not effect taking, and therefore date of that seizure was not proper date for statute of limitations to begin to run; 2 date of Army's denial of soldier's Standard Form 95 was date on which soldier's claim for compensation for his seized property began to run; 3 claim by soldier sounded in tort, and tort claim could not be reframed as Fifth Amendment takings claim to obtain jurisdiction in Federal Court of Claims; and 4 transfer of claim to federal district court would not have been in interest of justice.

Rule

The court held that the initial seizure did not effect a taking, and the statute of limitations began to run on the date the Army denied Livingston's claim for compensation.

The Court of Federal Claims, Marian Blank Horn , J., held that: 1 initial seizure of property did not effect taking, and therefore date of that seizure was not proper date for statute of limitations to begin to run; 2 date of Army's denial of soldier's Standard Form 95 was date on which soldier's claim for compensation for his seized property began to run; 3 claim by soldier sounded in tort, and tort claim could not be reframed as Fifth Amendment takings claim to obtain jurisdiction in Federal Court of Claims; and 4 transfer of claim to federal district court would not have been in interest of justice.

Analysis

The court analyzed the circumstances surrounding the seizure of Livingston's property and determined that it did not meet the criteria for a taking under the Fifth Amendment. The court found that the Army's actions were justified under military regulations and that the claim sounded in tort rather than a constitutional taking, which affected the jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims.

Conclusion

The Court of Federal Claims granted the United States' motion to dismiss, concluding that the initial seizure did not constitute a taking and that the claim was not properly before the court.

Motion granted.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case because the court found that the seizure of Livingston's property did not constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment, and thus the court lacked jurisdiction over the claim.

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