Armstrong v. Dep't of the Treasury, No. 09-3155

In an action arising from claimant's removal for unlawfully accessing computer databases while serving as a criminal investigator for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) denying claimant's petition for review of an AJ's decision dismissing his case under a settlement agreement with the TIGTA is vacated in part, affirmed in part and remanded where: 1) MSPB's denial of petition for review is vacated and remanded because the Board improperly conflated the issue of timeliness with the ultimate decision on the merits of petitioner's claim; and 2) MSPB's decision with respect to its compliance decision is affirmed as it correctly concluded that petitioner abandoned any appeal from the AJ's separate decision that his employing agency, the TIGTA, had not breached the settlement agreement.     

Read Armstrong v. Dep't of the Treasury, No. 09-3155

Appellate Information

Appealed from: Merit Systems Protection Board

Decided January 4, 2010

Judges

Before:  Michel, Chief Judge, and Plager and Linn, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Michel, Chief Judge

Counsel

For Appellant:  Kevin E. Byrnes, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, LLP

For Appellee:   Christopher A. Bowen, US Department of Justice, Commercial Litigation Branch