William S. Zeigler v. Department of the Army

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

WILLIAM S. ZEIGLER, DOCKET NUMBER Appellant, DA-0752-13-0912-I-1 v.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DATE: September 25, 2015 Agency.

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

William S. Zeigler, APO, APO/FPO Europe, pro se.

Heather A. Masten, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, for the agency.

BEFORE

Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chairman Mark A. Robbins, Member

FINAL ORDER

¶1 The appellant has filed a petition for review of the April 13, 2013 initial decision in this appeal. Initial Appeal File, Tab 24, Initial Decision; Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1. 2 During later settlement discussions, the appellant decided to withdraw the petition for review and submitted a letter to that effect. PFR File, Tab 4. The appellant’s letter includes a statement signed by the agency’s representative, declaring that the agency has no objection to the withdrawal of the petition for review. Id.

¶2 Finding that withdrawal is appropriate under these circumstances, we DISMISS the petition for review as withdrawn with prejudice to refiling. The initial decision of the administrative judge is final. This is the Board’s final order in this matter. Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1201.113 (5 C.F.R. § 1201.113).

NOTICE TO THE APPELLANT REGARDING YOUR FURTHER REVIEW RIGHTS

You have the right to request review of this final decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. You must submit your request to the court at the following address:

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Madison Place, N.W. Washington, DC 20439

The court must receive your request for review no later than 60 calendar days after the date of this order. See 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(1)(A) (as rev. eff. Dec. 27, 2012). If you choose to file, be very careful to file on time. The court has held that normally it does not have the authority to waive this statutory deadline and that filings that do not comply with the deadline must be dismissed. See Pinat v. Office of Personnel Management, 931 F.2d 1544 (Fed. Cir. 1991). If you need further information about your right to appeal this decision to court, you should refer to the Federal law that gives you this right. It is found in Title 5 of the United States Code, section 7703 (5 U.S.C. § 7703) (as rev. eff. Dec. 27, 2012). You may read this law as well as other sections of the United States Code, at our website, http://www.mspb.gov/appeals/uscode.htm. Additional information is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, and 11.

If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The Merit Systems Protection Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that any attorney will accept representation in a given case.

FOR THE BOARD: ______________________________ William D. Spencer Clerk of the Board Washington, D.C.