Charles A. Powell, Jr. v. Department of Justice

NOTE: Pursuant to Fed. Cir. R. 47.6, this disposition is
not citable as precedent. It is a public record.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
06-3125
CHARLES A. POWELL, JR.,
Petitioner,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Respondent.
__________________________
DECIDED: July 12, 2006
__________________________
Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, FRIEDMAN, Senior Circuit Judge, and MAYER, Circuit
Judge.
PER CURIAM.
Charles A. Powell, Jr. appeals the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection
Board, approving his settlement agreement with the Department of Justice for entry into
the record and dismissing his appeal. Powell v. Dep’t of Justice, DE0752040675-I-2
(MSPB Aug. 18, 2005). We affirm.
We must affirm the board’s decision unless it was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse
of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; obtained without procedures

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required by law, rule or regulation having been followed; or unsupported by substantial
evidence. See 5 U.S.C. § 7703(c) (2000). On March 31, 2005, Powell entered into a
settlement agreement resolving the department’s personnel action against him. The
record demonstrates that Powell understood the terms of the agreement and voluntarily,
even if begrudgingly, entered into it. As such, his argument that he was coerced into
settling is without merit, and the board properly approved the agreement for entry into
the record by its April 1, 2005, initial decision. Relatedly, Powell’s argument that the
board erred by declining to reopen proceedings in his case in light of his April 4, 2005,
request that the agreement be rescinded is also without merit. Once an agreement is
filed and accepted by the board, its terms may be avoided only upon a showing that it is
“tainted with invalidity.” Cf. Asberry v. United States Postal Serv., 692 F.2d 1378, 1380
(Fed. Cir. 1982). Therefore, the board correctly construed Powell’s request to rescind
the agreement as a request for reconsideration, and because he failed to establish any
ground for such reconsideration, it properly denied his request.
06-3125 2

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