United States v. Hopkins

Background

A civilian employee of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) filed a claim in the Court of Claims seeking back pay and allowances after alleging he was wrongfully discharged. The employee, who is now deceased, relied on the Tucker Act (28 U.S.C. § 1491, as amended in 1970) to bring the suit because that law allows suits in the Court of Claims based on express or implied contracts with military exchanges. The United States moved to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. The Court of Claims found jurisdiction, concluding the worker’s relationship with AAFES was based on an implied contract, which the 1970 amendment covered.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court reviewed the Government’s petition for review and addressed whether the lower court was correct to treat AAFES employees as necessarily serving under contract. The Court held that the Court of Claims erred in making a threshold finding that AAFES employees could never serve by appointment. The Supreme Court vacated the part of the lower court’s judgment that treated the plaintiff as holding his position by express or implied contract rather than by appointment. The matter was sent back to the lower court for further proceedings to decide whether the employee served by appointment or under a contract.

Real world impact

As a practical matter, the decision removes a blanket contract-based ruling for AAFES workers and requires further fact-finding about their employment status. That additional inquiry will affect whether individual AAFES employees can proceed with Tucker Act claims for back pay. The ruling is not a final resolution on the merits and sends the case back for more proceedings.