Phyllis M. Knight v. Office of Personnel Management

N OTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
PHYLLIS M. KNIGHT,
Petitioner
v.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT,
Respondent
______________________
2025-1261
______________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
District of Kansas in No. 6:23-cv-01193-DDC-GEB, Judge
Daniel D. Crabtree.
______________________
ON MOTION
______________________
Before T ARANTO, STOLL , and STARK, Circuit Judges.
P ER CURIAM .
O R D E R
The Office of Personnel Management moves to dismiss
or transfer. Phyllis M. Knight opposes, and OPM moves
unopposed to reply out of time. Ms. Knight separately
moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and to reform
the caption.
Case: 25-1261 Document: 14 Page: 1 Filed: 02/26/2025

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KNIGHT v. OPM 2
Ms. Knight’s complaint, filed in the United States Dis-
trict Court for the District of Kansas, alleged OPM and the
Social Security Administration violated various federal
statutes and sought damages amounting to over $1,000 per
month over an eight-year period (a sum exceeding $96,000
in total). ECF No. 1-2 at 27 n.3. The district court, among
other things, denied Ms. Knight’s motion for leave to pro-
ceed in forma pauperis, and Ms. Knight filed an appeal to
this court.
This court’s jurisdiction to review district court cases is
generally limited to cases involving the patent laws, see 28
U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1); civil actions on review to the district
court from the United States Patent and Trademark Office,
see § 1295(a)(4)(C); and cases involving certain damages
claims against the United States “not exceeding $10,000 in
amount,” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a)(2), see § 1295(a)(2). This case
does not fall within that jurisdiction. We conclude that
transfer to the United States Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit is appropriate. See U.S.C. §§ 41, 1291, 1631.
Accordingly,
I T I S O RDERED T HAT :
(1) The motion to file a reply out of time, ECF No. 12,
is granted to the extent that ECF No. 13 is accepted for
filing as OPM’s reply in support of its motion to dismiss or
transfer.
(2) The motion to dismiss or transfer, ECF No. 9, is
granted to the extent that this matter and all case filings
are transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for
Case: 25-1261 Document: 14 Page: 2 Filed: 02/26/2025

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KNIGHT v. OPM 3
the Tenth Circuit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631.
February 26, 2025
Date
F OR THE COURT
Case: 25-1261 Document: 14 Page: 3 Filed: 02/26/2025

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