Deborah Blanchard Oduwa v. United States

NOTE: Pursuant to Fed. Cir. R. 47.6, this disposition is
not citable as precedent. It is a public record.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
06-5080
DEBORAH BLANCHARD ODUWA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES,
Defendant-Appellee.
__________________________
DECIDED: November 7, 2006
__________________________
Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, MAYER and LINN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
Deborah Blanchard Oduwa seeks review of an order of the United States Court
of Federal Claims dismissing her complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Oduwa v. United States, No. 06-CV-88 (Fed. Cl. Feb. 23, 2006). We affirm.
Whether the Court of Federal Claims properly dismissed Oduwa’s complaint for
lack of jurisdiction is a question of law that we review de novo. Wilson v. United States,

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405 F.3d 1002, 1008 (Fed. Cir. 2005). The Court of Federal Claims has authority to
issue judgments against the United States only where the claims are grounded in a
contract with the United States or arise under a money-mandating statute, regulation, or
provision of the Constitution. 28 U.S.C. § 1491; United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392,
397 (1976). It does not have jurisdiction over claims sounding in tort. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1491(a)(1); Brown v. United States, 105 F.3d 621, 623 (Fed. Cir. 1997). None of
Oduwa’s claims flow from a contract or arise under a money-mandating statute,
regulation, or provision of the Constitution, and all of her claims are based upon alleged
negligent or intentional wrong-doing by the government. They sound in tort, and the
trial court properly dismissed her complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
06-5080 2

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