Vorachek v. United States
Citation | 337 F.2d 797 |
Decision Date | 03 November 1964 |
Docket Number | No. 17558.,17558. |
Parties | Roger F. VORACHEK, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Roger F. Vorachek, pro se.
John O. Garaas, U. S. Atty., Fargo, N. D., made argument for appellee and filed brief.
Before VOGEL, VAN OOSTERHOUT and MEHAFFY, Circuit Judges.
VAN OOSTERHOUT, Circuit Judge.
This appeal is by Roger F. Vorachek, a layman appearing pro se, from final judgment dismissing his complaint against the United States. The complaint, filed August 12, 1963, reads:
Defendant filed motion to dismiss upon the ground of failure to state a cause of action upon which relief could be granted and upon the ground of lack of jurisdiction of the court. Such motion, pursuant to local rule, was submitted on briefs filed by the parties. The motion to dismiss was sustained upon both grounds. Final judgment dismissing the complaint was entered on October 31, 1963. This timely appeal followed.
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. The threshold question in every federal case is whether the court has jurisdiction. An appellate court must satisfy itself not only on its own jurisdiction but also that of the trial court. If jurisdiction on the part of the trial court is lacking, the jurisdiction of this court is limited to correcting the error of the trial court in entertaining jurisdiction. Rock Island Millwork Co. v. Hedges-Gough Lumber Co., 8 Cir., 337 F.2d 24 (1964); Kern v. Standard Oil Co., 8 Cir., 228 F.2d 699, 701.
Sovereign immunity from suit exists in favor of the United States and no action lies against the United States unless legislative consent to suit has been given. Dalehite v. United States, 346 U.S. 15, 30, 73 S.Ct. 956, 97 L.Ed. 1427; Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 139, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152.
The burden is upon the plaintiff to allege and prove that his cause of action is within the jurisdiction of the court. Federal Rule Civil Procedure 8(a), so far as here material, provides:
"A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether an original claim, a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, shall contain (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court\'s jurisdiction depends, * * *"
See also Form 2, Appendix of Forms, Fed.R.Civ.P.
In Jackson v. Kuhn, 8 Cir., 254 F.2d 555, 560, affirming the District Court's dismissal of an action for want of jurisdiction, we said:
See 2 Moore, Federal Practice § 8.07.
Upon the basis of the law above stated, the court was clearly right in concluding that the court lacked jurisdiction by reason of the failure in the complaint to set out a plain statement of the grounds upon which the court's jurisdiction depends. The complaint does not set out any statute relied upon as conferring jurisdiction or giving consent on the part of the United States to be sued. The complaint fails to point to the statute conferring jurisdiction or to any statute claimed to have been violated. The complaint fails to state the nature of the information released, the official or agency making the release, the party to whom the disclosure was made, the time thereof, or the circumstances under which it is claimed the information was provided.
No jurisdiction is established by the allegations of paragraph 4 of the complaint and...
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