Vickie L. Jones v. Department of Veterans Affairs

N OTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
VICKIE L. JONES,
Petitioner
v.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS,
Respondent
______________________
2024-1042
______________________
Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection
Board in No. PH-1221-23-0055-W-1.
______________________
Before CHEN, L INN, and HUGHES , Circuit Judges.
P ER CURIAM .
O R D E R
In response to this court’s show cause order, the re-
spondent urges dismissal of this petition for review. Vickie
L. Jones submits a “brief summary of [her] complaint” re-
garding the “review of [her] case.” ECF No. 15 at 1–2.
Ms. Jones filed an Individual Right of Action appeal
with the Merit Systems Protection Board. Due to the up-
grade of the Board’s network and e-Appeal filing system,
the administrative judge, with agreement by the parties,
issued an initial decision on August 24, 2023, dismissing
Case: 24-1042 Document: 16 Page: 1 Filed: 05/03/2024

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JONES v. DVA 2
the case without prejudice for a period of 60 days, subject
to automatic refiling by the Board. Ms. Jones filed a peti-
tion for review from that decision, even though her Board
appeal was refiled, docketed as PH-1221-23-0055-W-2, and
is pending with the administrative judge.
This court only has jurisdiction to review final deci-
sions and orders from the Board. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1295(a)(9); Weed v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 571 F.3d 1359, 1361
(Fed. Cir. 2009). The administrative judge’s decision,
merely dismissing Ms. Jones’s appeal without prejudice
subject to automatic reinstatement, is not final. See
Strausbaugh v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 401 F. App’x 524, 526
(Fed. Cir. 2010). Because there is no final order or decision
from the Board, this court lacks jurisdiction and must dis-
miss. Ms. Jones may petition this court for review after
issuance of a final decision.
Accordingly,
I T I S O RDERED T HAT :
(1) The petition for review is dismissed.
(2) Each side shall bear its own costs.
May 3, 2024
Date
F OR THE COURT
Case: 24-1042 Document: 16 Page: 2 Filed: 05/03/2024

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