Pugh v. Department of Air Force
Pugh v. Department of Air Force
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment of said district court be and it hereby is AFFIRMED.
Plaintiff-appellant Ralph Pugh, Jr., sued the Department of the Air Force and John R. Edwards in his capacity as Chief of the Instructor Management Section of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) alleging that they wrongfully declared him ineligible to return to his AFJROTC position, effectively terminating his employment by the Brentwood Union Free School District.
Pugh retired from the United States Air Force as a Senior Master Sergeant and worked from June 1993 to June 1997 as an
This court reviews a district court’s decisions on claims of violations of the APA de novo. Ward v. Brown, 22 F.3d 516, 521 (2d Cir. 1994). Administrative decisions are reviewed to determine whether they are arbitrary and capricious; in addition, administrative decisions by the military are reviewed with increased deference because of the military context. Falk v. Secretary of the Army, 870 F.2d 941, 944-45 (2d Cir. 1989). The Air Force’s decisions in this case were neither arbitrary nor capricious. In a letter appealing his poor evaluation, Pugh acknowledged that if his appeal of that evaluation was unsuccessful he would be placed on probational status and his sabbatical would be canceled. The Air Force applied clearly stated rules fairly in this case.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
. Pugh also initially sued the Brentwood Union Free School District Board of Education but stipulated to a dismissal of those claims with prejudice in July 1999.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ralph PUGH, Jr. v. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, Air University (AETC), John R. Edwards, in his capacity as Chief, Instructor Management Section, Department of the Air Force (AETC), Board of Education, Brentwood Union Free School District
- Status
- Published