Howard v. Merit Systems Protection Board

NOTE: This order is nonprecedential United States Court of AppeaIs for the FederaI Circuit CARL W. HOWARD, SR., Petitioner, V. MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD, Resp0ndent. 2010-313O Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board in case no. CHO752090771-I-1. Before RADER, Chief Judge, BRYsoN and MO0RE, Circu,it Judges. PER CUR1AM. 0 R D E R The court treats Carl W. HoWard, Sr.’s correspon- dence concerning the timeliness of his petition for review as a motion for reconsideration of the court’s previous rejection of his petition for review as untimely Sepa- rately, Howard moves for leave to proceed in forma pau- per1s. On March 19, 2010, the Merit Syste1ns Pr0tection Board issued a final decision in Howard v. Dep’t of Veter- HOWARD V. MSPB 2 arts Affairs, No. CH-0752090771-I-1, specifying that its decision was final and that any petition for review must be received by this court within 60 calendar days of receipt of the Board’s decision. The court received How- ard’s petition for review on May 21, 2010. The Board’s records reflect that Howard was regis- tered_as an e-f1ler. Pursuant to the Board’s regulations an e-filer is deemed to receive a decision on the date it is served via electronic mail. See 5 CFR §1201.14(m)(2) ("MSPB documents served electronically on registered e- fi1ers are deemed received on the date of electronic sub- mission"). Thus, Howard is deemed to have received the Board’s decision on March 19, 2010. Howards petition for review seeking review of the Board’s decision was re- ceived by the court 63 days later, on May 21, 2010. A petition for review of a Board decision must be filed within 60 days of receipt of the decision See 5 U.S.C. § 7 7(}3(b)(1). The 60-day filing period is "statut0ry, man- datory, [and] jurisdictional." Mon,zo v. Dep't of Trcmsp. , 735 F.2d 1335, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 1984); see also Ojoc v. Dep't of the Army, 405 F.3d 1349, 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2005) ("[c]ompliance with the filing deadline of 5 U.S.C. §7703(b)(1) is a prerequisite to our exercise of jurisdic- tion"). Howard states that his petition “Was sent in a timely manner." However, in order to be timely, a petition for review must be received by the court, not simply placed in the mail systern, within the filing deadline. See Fed. R. App. P. 25(a)(2)(A) (“filing is not timely unless the clerk receives the papers within the time fixed for filing.") Because Howard’s petition for review was received on May 21, three days late, this court must dismiss Howard’s petition as untimely. Accordingly, IT ls 0RDERED THA'r: 3 HOWARD V. MSPB (1) The motion for reconsideration is denied. The pe- tition for review is dismissed as untimely (2) The motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted (3) Each side shall bear its own costs. FoR THE COURT \ AU5 ~' 2 mm 131 Jan Horbaly Date J an Horbaly Clerk cc: Carl W. Howard, Sr. Sara B. Rearden, Esq. S2° "'=is2s@tfli.'lFas,i'°“ AUG 02 2010 JAN HORBALY GLERK