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LITIGATION REPORT

NEW CASES:

1. [[underlined]] Buffolet v. Smithsonian Institution, et al. [[/underlined]]

This suit, brought by the authors of [[underlined]] A History of French Military Aviation [[/underlined]] before the Tribunal of the Grand Instance in Paris on February 12, 1987, alleges copyright infringement by the Smithsonian Press in the publication of the English translation of the original French work. The Department of Justice has been notified of this suit, and the Institution is seeking information from the French publisher as to the status of this claim.

2. [[underlined]] Dupree v. United States [[/underlined]]

On January 23, 1987, plaintiff filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the amount of $500,000 under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff alleges that the Institution was negligent in allowing the floor at the entrance to the National Museum of American Art to be covered with water and slippery on January 13, 1984. As a result, plaintiff alleges she fell and suffered severe injury. The Smithsonian Institution denied her administrative tort claim for failure to provide adequate evidence to support her claim for damages. An answer is to be filed by April 27, 1987. The Smithsonian is being represented in this matter by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

3. [[underlined]] Wade v. Smithsonian Institution, et al. [[/underlined]]

This [[underlined]] pro se [[/underlined]] Bivens-type action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on December 30, 1986, against the Institution and two of its employees, the recently retired Director of Audits and Investigations and a staff auditor. (Suit was filed prior to the Director's retirement.) Plaintiff, who is incarcerated in federal prison in Anthony, Texas, argues that his constitutional rights were violated when the Institution forwarded to prison officials a counterfeit money order signed by plaintiff and tendered for mail order merchandise, which Smithsonian officials allegedly mislabeled as "forged." Plaintiff is seeking money damages, declaratory judgment, and injunctive relief. A motion to dismiss for improper service was filed on March 31, 1987. The Smithsonian and its defendant employees are being represented by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

CASES PREVIOUSLY REPORTED:

4. [[underlined]] Cofield v. Burford [[/underlined]]
On May 7, 1985, plaintiff was removed during probation from his Smithsonian security guard position. He subsequently filed both an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and a complaint of discrimination with the Institution. The MSPB dismissed his appeal for lack of jurisdiction