O'Brien v. U.S., No. CIV. 2:97-CV-145-WCO.

• Court: United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Northern District of Georgia
• Writing for the Court: O'Kelley
• Citation: 18 F.Supp.2d 1356
• Decision Date: 13 February 1998
• Docket Number: No. CIV. 2:97-CV-145-WCO.
• Parties: Gerard T. O'BRIEN, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

18 F.Supp.2d 1356 Gerard T. O'BRIEN, Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED STATES, Defendant. No. CIV. 2:97-CV-145-WCO. United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Gainesville Division. February 13, 1998.

Page 1357

Gerard T. O'Brien, Gainesville, GA, pro se.

Lisa D. Cooper, Lori M. Beranek, Mary Christine Roemer, SAUSA, Office of United States Attorney, Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, GA, for defendants.

ORDER

O'KELLEY, Senior District Judge.

The captioned case is before the court for consideration of some thirty motions which have been filed by the plaintiff, Gerard O'Brien, as well as defendant United States' motion to dismiss [30-1]. A hearing was held in the federal district court in Gainesville, Georgia, on December 31, 1997 at which time both parties were present to discuss these motions. Because a positive determination of defendant's motion to dismiss would be dispositive of the remaining motions, it will be first addressed.

Plaintiff has made countless allegations in his complaint, many of which are of dubious clarity. However, the court does not wish to dismiss this case on the basis of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2)'s requirement of "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief" only to have the claim resurface in a perhaps different but equally incomprehensible state. Additionally, the court notes plaintiff's pro se status and will therefore afford him greater latitude. For these reasons the court will attempt to decipher plaintiff's complaint and determine whether it withstands defendant's motion to dismiss.

Facts

In this action plaintiff seeks appropriate relief for the alleged infringement of Patent No. 4,683,618 issued to plaintiff on August 4, 1987, and its associated copyright certificate No. TXU 271,692. Plaintiff alleges a series of continuing violations through which his intellectual property has been "taken" by the government. The alleged taking occurred through both the government's prevention of plaintiff's use of his patented process as well as by the government's aid and inducement of others' infringement of plaintiff's property through their unlicensed use of his process. In his complaint plaintiff includes a laundry list of laws which "would also appear to have been violated in the commission of the infringement. ..." Complaint at 8-9. The Court will therefore analyze what it perceives to be plaintiff's various claims.

Jurisdiction

Plaintiff claims this court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331,¹ 1332,² and 1338.³

Page 1358

However, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the federal government must consent to be sued. United States v. Mitchell, 445 U.S. 535, 538, 100 S.Ct. 1349, 63 L.Ed.2d 607 (1980). It is well established that the United States is immune from suit unless sovereign immunity has been waived. See Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165-67, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 3105, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985); United States v. Sherwood, 312 U.S. 584, 61 S.Ct. 767, 85 L.Ed. 1058 (1941). Absent an express statute waiving sovereign immunity, the district court lacks jurisdiction to entertain an action against the United States, thereby requiring dismissal. DiVosta Rentals v. Lee, 488 F.2d 674, 679 (5th Cir.1973).

Sections 1331, 1332, and 1338 operate merely as grants of general jurisdiction and require an accompanying waiver of sovereign immunity. Multiple courts have determined that § 1331 does not constitute a waiver of the federal government's sovereign immunity. See, e.g., Beale v. Blount, 461 F.2d 1133, 1138 (5th Cir.1972) and Sellers v. United States, 569 F.Supp. 1149, 1154 (N.D.Ga.1983). While 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332 confer subject matter jurisdiction over the defined actions, they are not in themselves waivers of sovereign immunity. They do not confer personal jurisdiction over any party to the actions. See Duplantier v. United States, 606 F.2d 654, 663 n. 19 (5th Cir.1979)(noting that § 1331 does not constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity but only grants federal courts certain subject matter jurisdiction and stating, "[t]he concepts of personal and subject matter jurisdiction are separate and distinct."). This court finds this analysis applicable to § 1338 as well. Like §§ 1331 and 1332, § 1338 is a statute which confers jurisdiction of specified subject matter to the federal district courts, as opposed to the state courts. See, e.g., Croydon Co., Inc. v. Unique Furnishings, Ltd., 831 F.Supp. 480, 487 (E.D.N.C.1993) (following the exclusive jurisdictional provision in § 1498).

Accordingly, in order to bring suit against defendant United States, there must be some statute which provides a waiver of the federal government's sovereign immunity for each claim. The court will therefore proceed to investigating whether such a waiver exists as to plaintiff's claims.

I. Infringement Claim

Plaintiff alleges that his patented process has been infringed through the unlicensed use of various organizations, including the USDA and FDA. In its motion to dismiss, defendant argues that this court has no jurisdiction over the claim because 28 U.S.C. § 1498 provides for exclusive jurisdiction in the United States Court of Federal Claims for claims of infringement against the United States. Section 1498(a) provides:

Whenever an invention described in and covered by a patent of the United States is used or manufactured by or for the United States without license of the owner thereof or lawful right to use or manufacture the same, the owner's remedy shall be by action against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims for the recovery of his reasonable and entire compensation for such use and manufacture.

28 U.S.C. § 1498(b) similarly supplies an exclusive remedy in the Court of Federal Claims for infringement "by the United States, by a corporation owned or controlled by the United States, or by a contractor, subcontractor, or any person, firm, or corporation acting for the government and with the authorization or consent of the government. ..."

Often § 1498 arises in the context of a...