Chabal v. Reagan

• Decision Date: 15 June 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-5332,86-5332
• Citation: 822 F.2d 349
• Parties: Matthew CHABAL, Jr., Appellant, v. Ronald REAGAN, President, United States of America; Robert H. Tuttle, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel, Individually and in his capacities as Deputy Assistant and Director; Stanley Morris, Director, United States Marshal's Service, Individually and in his capacity as Director; John J. Twomey, Deputy Director, United States Marshal's Service, Individually and in his capacity as Deputy Director; United States Marshal's Service; United States Department of Justice; United States of America.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 349

822 F.2d 349

Matthew CHABAL, Jr., Appellant, v. Ronald REAGAN, President, United States of America; Robert H. Tuttle, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel, Individually and in his capacities as Deputy Assistant and Director; Stanley Morris, Director United States Marshal's Service, Individually and in his capacity as Director; John J. Twomey, Deputy Director United States Marshal's Service, Individually and in his capacity as Deputy Director; United States Marshal's Service; United States Department of Justice; United States of America.

No. 86-5332.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Feb. 18, 1987.

Decided June 15, 1987.

Clifford A. Rieders (argued), Rieders, Travis, Mussina, Humphrey & Harris, Williamsport, Pa., for appellant.

Richard K. Willard, Asst. Atty. Gen., James J. West, U.S. Atty., William Kantner, Douglas N. Letter, Harold J. Krent (argued), Appellate Staff Civil Div. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for appellees.

Before SLOVITER, MANSMANN, Circuit Judges, and SCIRICA, District Judge. ^*

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

I. Introduction

Plaintiff Matthew Chabal, Jr. filed suit in federal district court challenging his removal from his position as the United States Marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and seeking reinstatement, back pay and other damages. The district court found that Chabal's complaint failed to state a claim and dismissed the action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Chabal v. Reagan, 633 F.Supp. 1061 (M.D.Pa.1986). Chabal appeals.

The threshold issue presented by this appeal is whether this court has jurisdiction over an appeal challenging a district court's dismissal on the merits of a complaint seeking both reinstatement and monetary damages from, inter alia, the United States or whether such an appeal rests exclusively with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Resolution of that issue requires us to consider whether the district court had jurisdiction in the first instance.

II. Facts

In 1982, Chabal was appointed to a four-year term as the marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 561. ¹ On October 4, 1985, prior to the expiration of his term, Chabal received a letter from defendant Robert Tuttle, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel dated September 26, 1985, informing Chabal that he was thereby removed from his position as a marshal.

On October 9, 1985, Chabal filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania naming as defendants President Reagan, Tuttle and certain officials of the Marshal's Service, both as individuals and in their official capacities, the Marshal's Service, the United States Justice Department, and the United States (all defendants hereafter referred to jointly as United States unless the context indicates otherwise). Chabal alleged that he was entitled to an investigation before removal by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) of the Merit Systems Protection Board pursuant to the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, and that his removal deprived him of property and liberty interests without due process of law. The complaint sought as relief declaratory and injunctive relief preventing Chabal's removal "pending an investigation and recommendation by the Office of Special Counsel," App. at 15, and monetary recovery in an unspecified amount.

On November 26, 1985, the defendants moved for dismissal of the complaint. The defendants and Chabal then stipulated that Chabal could amend his complaint to state an additional claim that his removal had occurred in retaliation for his exercise of First Amendment rights; that a January 14, 1986, letter from the Office of Special Counsel had mooted Chabal's claim for an injunction barring dismissal pending an investigation by the OSC; that Chabal would be considered to be seeking reinstatement; and that the United States' motion for dismissal would be considered to apply to the amended complaint.

In essence, Chabal's amended complaint alleges that Chabal received an unjustified unsatisfactory performance rating and was removed from his job as marshal by the President because Chabal followed the orders of the federal judges in his district rather than those of his superiors in the Marshal's Office and the Justice Department. The amended complaint restates Chabal's claims that his removal violated 28 U.S.C. Sec. 561 and the Civil Service Reform Act and deprived him of property and liberty interests without due process of law, and adds the claim that the removal represented retaliation for Chabal's exercise of First Amendment rights. Chabal seeks as relief: (1) reinstatement; (2) "Damages which may be appropriate, including but not limited to, back pay, prospective relief and damages for emotional distress," App. at 59, 62; and (3) "Attorney's fees and costs." App. at 59, 62.

The defendants filed a motion to dismiss. The court held that Chabal's claim seeking to compel an investigation of his dismissal by the Office of Special Counsel was mooted by the decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board that Chabal was not covered by the statute. The court held that relief from that holding must be sought from the appropriate court of appeals. The court then granted the government's motion to dismiss the remaining claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. ² The court rejected Chabal's First Amendment retaliation claim because it concluded that Chabal had not been fired for protected speech, that is, speech "fairly characterized as being related to a matter of public concern." 633 F.Supp. at 1066 (citing Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983)). On appeal, Chabal does not contest the dismissal of his claims under the Civil Service Reform Act and the First Amendment.

The district court also rejected Chabal's due process claim because it concluded that the Marshal's Service exists "exclusively as an arm of the Executive Branch," that "Congress did not intend the Marshal's Service 'to be independent of control direction or interference from the President,' " 633 F.Supp. at 1064, and that under the principles of Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52, 47 S.Ct. 21, 71 L.Ed. 160 (1926), Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602, 55 S.Ct. 869, 79 L.Ed. 1611 (1935), and Wiener v. United States, 357 U.S. 349, 78 S.Ct. 1275, 2 L.Ed.2d 1377 (1958), Chabal "was subject to dismissal at the will of the President without cause, had no property interest in his position as a United States Marshal and, therefore, possessed no right to notice and hearing under the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause." 633 F.Supp. at 1065.

Finally, the court also rejected Chabal's liberty interest claim. The court found that Chabal "makes no allegation whatsoever that the government communicated to the general public any information regarding the reasons for his dismissal or in any other manner disparaged his name. Thus, [Chabal] states no claim that his liberty interest in his 'good name, reputation, honor or integrity' has been impaired." 633 F.Supp. at 1065 (quoting Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 349, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2079, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976)).

Chabal appeals, contending that the district court erred in concluding that marshals are removable at will and thus have no property right in continued employment. Chabal argues that the separation of powers doctrine mandates that marshals, once appointed, serve out their terms free from removal by the President save for cause. In addition, Chabal contends on appeal that the district court erred in concluding that Chabal stated no facts demonstrating a deprivation of a liberty interest in his continued good name and reputation.

Before we can reach the merits of Chabal's contentions, we must address the government's claim that we lack appellate jurisdiction over Chabal's appeal. The government argues that because Chabal's complaint seeks both non-monetary and monetary relief from the United States, appellate jurisdiction over the district court's dismissal of the complaint rests exclusively with the Federal Circuit.

III. Jurisdiction of the District Court

Analysis of our jurisdiction must begin with an inquiry into the jurisdiction of the district court. Jurisdiction over non-tort monetary claims against the United States is exclusively defined by the Tucker Act, as codified at 28 U.S.C. Secs. 1346, 1491, because it is only under the terms of the Tucker Act that the United States waives its sovereign immunity to non-tort claims seeking monetary relief. See Hahn v. United States, 757 F.2d 581, 585-86 (3d Cir.1985). Under the Tucker Act, the United States Claims Court and district courts share original jurisdiction over non-tort monetary claims against the United States not exceeding $10,000. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1346(a)(2) (sometimes referred to as the "Little Tucker Act"). Original jurisdiction over such claims seeking more than $10,000 vests exclusively in the Claims Court. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1491 (the so-called "Big Tucker Act"). ³ In order to permit plaintiffs to exercise a choice as to whether to proceed in the district court or in the Claims Court, we have permitted plaintiffs to waive damages in excess of $10,000, see Hahn, 757 F.2d at 587; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. National Association of Flood Insurers, 520 F.2d 11, 25 (3d Cir.1975), a practice also followed by other circuits. See e.g., Shaw v. Gwatney, 795 F.2d 1351, 1356 (8th Cir.1986); Zumerling v. Devine, 769 F.2d 745, 748 (Fed.Cir.1985); Goble v. Marsh, 684 F.2d 12, 15 (D.C.Cir.1982). This effectuates the Congressional design to permit persons with comparatively small claims to bring suit in a geographically convenient court. See United States v. Hohri, --- U.S. ----, ----, 107 S.Ct. 2246, 2249 n. 1, 96 L.Ed.2d 51, 57 n. 1 (1987).

Where a non-tort monetary...