Knuckles v. Bolger

490 F. Supp. 1291, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11743
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMay 29, 1980
DocketNo. 80-271C(3)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 490 F. Supp. 1291 (Knuckles v. Bolger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knuckles v. Bolger, 490 F. Supp. 1291, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11743 (E.D. Mo. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

FILIPPINE, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. The plaintiff, a former employee of the defendant United States Postal Service (“the Service”) brings this action for reinstatement, with back pay, to his position as a clerk with the Service. Plaintiff also seeks an injunction against any further proceedings against him by the defendants. The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1361.

The exhibits introduced at the hearing on plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and submitted in support of the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment show that the following facts are undisputed:

1. The plaintiff, as a veteran, is a “preference eligible” and an “employee” within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)(B). By letter dated August 24,1979, the defendant Service, plaintiff’s employer at that time, informed the plaintiff that “it is proposed to remove you from the Postal Service no earlier than 7 days from the time you receive this notice. There is reasonable cause to believe that you are guilty of a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment can be imposed.” The letter went on to inform the plaintiff that the reason for the proposed action was “converting postal funds to your own use”; it specified six occasions on which the plaintiff had allegedly failed to affix postage on postage due mail when the mail was purchased. The letter informed the plaintiff of his right to file an answer, including affidavits, in opposition to the proposed action.
2. The plaintiff did submit a response; however, by letter dated September 5, 1979, the plaintiff was informed that his employment with the Service would be terminated effective September 7, 1979. [1293]*1293This letter informed the plaintiff of his right to appeal to the defendant Merit Systems Protection Board (“the Board”). The plaintiff did appeal to the Board, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ 7513(d) and 7701. The Board held a hearing on November 7, 1979, on the plaintiff’s appeal, after denying plaintiff’s motion for judgment; plaintiff’s motion for judgment was based on the fact that on October 19, 1979, the plaintiff had been acquitted by a federal jury of criminal charges identical to the allegations contained in the Service’s notice of proposed dismissal.
3. On December 12, 1979, the Board’s presiding official issued a decision upholding the plaintiff’s removal from the Service. The basis of the decision was that a preponderance of the evidence established that on five of the six occasions specified, the plaintiff had converted postal funds to his own use. A “Notice” in the decision indicated that the decision would become final on January 16, 1980, unless a petition for review had been filed with the Board by that date.
4. On January 18, 1980, the Board reopened the plaintiff’s case and remanded it to a presiding official.1 The Board’s order stated that the elements required to prove a criminal violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641 had not been established by a preponderance of the evidence. The Board found that the Service’s evidence did prove plaintiff’s “serious violations of accounting procedure”, and the Board indicated that this was in fact the charge described in the Service’s specifications. The Board concluded that the Service had committed the “procedural error” of mislabelling the charge against the plaintiff; it remanded to the presiding official for further proceedings to determine whether this error had been harmful and had substantially prejudiced the plaintiff’s rights.
5. The presiding official, on February 4, requested memoranda of law from the parties on the issue of “mislabeling of the charge”, in accordance with the Board’s instructions. The Service’s memorandum was submitted on March 5, 1980; the plaintiff’s memorandum was submitted on February 26, 1980.2 The issue is now pending before the presiding official. The Service’s memorandum was captioned “United States Postal Service’s motion to Reopen and for Reconsideration of the Board’s Order Dated January 18, 1980”; a copy of the memorandum/motion has been forwarded to the Board by the presiding official considering the case on remand.

The plaintiff alleges, in this action, that the Board has initiated its own charges against the plaintiff, in that “harmful error” is an affirmative defense pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 1201.56(b) and the plaintiff himself never raised the defense. Plaintiff also alleges that his due process rights were violated by the Service because plaintiff was never notified that he was being removed for violations of accounting procedures and that if he was removed for such violations, he was entitled to 30 days’ notice, not 7 days’, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7513(b)(1).

[1294]*1294The defendants contend that plaintiff has not made a showing of irreparable injury sufficient to entitle him to relief in this action, and that this Court is without jurisdiction over this action because the plaintiff has not exhausted his administrative remedies. Defendants also assert that, assuming judicial review is proper, the correct forum is the United States Court of Claims or Court of Appeals, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(1).

The defendants rely primarily on Sampson v. Murray, 415 U.S. 61, 94 S.Ct. 937, 39 L.Ed.2d 166 (1974). In Sampson, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which had affirmed the District Court’s entry of a temporary restraining order against the plaintiff’s discharge. The plaintiff in Sampson was a probationary employee of the General Services Administration (GSA). After receiving notice that she would be discharged, plaintiff filed suit in District Court, claiming that GSA had not followed its own procedures in discharging her. She also appealed to the Civil Service Commission, and instituted her District Court action while her administrative appeal was pending. The District Court entered a temporary restraining order, which the court later ordered continued until such time as a certain GSA official should appear to testify.

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Bluebook (online)
490 F. Supp. 1291, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knuckles-v-bolger-moed-1980.