Patel v. United States Postal Service

Case: 14-3160 Document: 8 Page: 1 Filed: 10/07/2014 NOTE: This order is nonprecedential. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________ SMITA A. PATEL, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, Respondent. ______________________ 2014-3160 ______________________ Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board in No. CH-0353-13-0477-I-1. ______________________ ON MOTION ______________________ Before PROST, Chief Judge, DYK AND MOORE, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM. ORDER The United States Postal Service moves to dismiss this petition for lack of jurisdiction. This court’s review of Merit Systems Protection Board decisions is limited to final orders or final decisions. See Weed v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 571 F.3d 1359, 1361-63 (Fed. Case: 14-3160 Document: 8 Page: 2 Filed: 10/07/2014 2 PATEL v. USPS Cir. 2009); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(9). After the Administrative Judge issued an initial decision in this case, Smita A. Patel filed a timely petition for review with the Board which remains pending. The filing of that petition with the Board rendered the initial decision non- final for purposes of our review. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113(a) (“The initial decision will not become the Board’s final decision if within the time limit for filing . . . any party files a petition for review . . . .”). Because there is no final order or final decision of the Board, this court currently lacks jurisdiction over this case. This order does not prevent Patel from seeking this court’s review by filing a timely petition for review after the Board enters a final decision in her case. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT: (1) The motion is granted. The petition is dismissed. (2) Each side shall bear its own costs. FOR THE COURT /s/ Daniel E. O’Toole Daniel E. O’Toole Clerk of Court s26 ISSUED AS A MANDATE: October 7, 2014