D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Elmhurst, IL (Board decision, December 17, 2020)

ECAB final decision. The Board granted the request to dismiss appeal No. 21-0075. It did not review the underlying OWCP decision. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days of issuance unless this decision specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

21-0075 was an appeal from OWCP’s September 24, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on October 23, 2020. Counsel asked the Board in December to dismiss the timely appeal; the Board granted that request. The Board made no ruling on the merits of the underlying claim.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: ECAB dismissal of an appeal at the appellant’s request.
• Outcome: Appeal voluntarily dismissed; underlying merits not reviewed.
• Key point: The Board granted the request to withdraw the appeal.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
D.B., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 21-0075
) Issued: December 17, 2020
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
Elmhurst, IL, Employer
)
_________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Alan J. Shapiro, Esq., for the appellant1
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Deputy Chief Judge PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge
VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On October 23, 2020 appellant, through counsel, filed a timely appeal from a September 24, 2020 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0075.

In a letter dated and received December 9, 2020, counsel requested that the appeal be dismissed.

The Board has duly considered the matter and concludes that counsel’s request for the dismissal of the appeal should be granted. Accordingly,

1
In all cases in which a representative has been authorized in a matter before the Board, no claim for a fee for legal or other service performed on appeal before the Board is valid unless approved by the Board. 20 C.F.R. § 501.9(e). No contract for a stipulated fee or on a contingent fee basis will be approved by the Board. Id. An attorney or representative’s collection of a fee without the Board’s approval may constitute a misdemeanor, subject to fine or imprisonment for up to one year or both. Id.; see also 18 U.S.C. § 292. Demands for payment of fees to a representative, prior to approval by the Board, may be reported to appropriate authorities for investigation. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT appellant’s request for the dismissal of the appeal is granted. The appeal docketed as No. 21-0075 is dismissed.

Issued: December 17, 2020
Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Deputy Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Alternate Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

2