MELVIN Castro has refiled his lawsuit against the United States Army for rejecting his application for enlistment twice. He is now also suing the Army for slander and libel.
Last week, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI dismissed without prejudice Castro’s lawsuit and allowed him to amend it.
According to his new complaint, Castro said he attempted to re-enlist into the United States Army at the Portland, Oregon MEPS station in January 2021, and again in May 2021, at the Saipan recruiter’s office.
He said he was denied re-enlistment “under the fraudulent claims of being suicidal as insinuated with non-existent self-inflicted scars on left wrist as well as for being ‘Baker Acted,’ which implies that the individual was mentally institutionalized.”
“I have documentation that provides proof of the aforementioned, which were voluntarily provided to me at the Saipan recruiter’s office,” Castro said, adding that he is also suing the Army for slander and libel.
“The Baker Act inhibits an individual’s employment opportunities; thus a monetary settlement would suffice,” he added.
Castro, who represents himself, demands a settlement of $500,000 from the Army.
His previous complaint was dismissed because “Castro seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief and his challenged decision is not reviewable by the District Court,” Judge Manglona said.
She added that the “United States and its agencies enjoy sovereign immunity and can only be sued in the event that Congress waived such immunity.”
Additionally, the judge said, internal military decisions are “generally non-reviewable and present a nonjusticiable issue.”
In his initial complaint, Castro stated that “fabricated medical causes (non-self-inflicted scars on left wrist) were imposed [on] him.”
“[A] fractured finger is not cause for disqualification,” he added.
Castro said he was “able to surpass minimum scores for physical evaluation tests during [his] time in service despite having an incapacitated finger on [the] left hand.”
He also said that he was not institutionalized for any mental illnesses.
