In the Matter of the Petition by                                )
                                                                               )
FRANK GOMON                                                     )
P.O. Box 570031                                                    )
Tarzana, CA 91357-0031                                      )
                                                                               )
                                                                               )
                                                                               )
Refusal to Provide Post Office                              )
Box Service                                                           )  P.S. Docket No. POB 99-69

APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:                           Frank Gomon
                                                                               P. O. Box 570031
                                                                              Tarzana, CA 91357-0031

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:                       Michael W. Mumbach, Esq.
                                                                              Civil Practice Section
                                                                              United States Postal Service
                                                                              475 L'Enfant Plaza West, SW
                                                                              Washington, DC 20260-1127

POSTAL SERVICE DECISION

Petitioner, Frank Gomon, has filed an appeal from the April 8, 1999 Initial Decision of an Administrative Law Judge granting Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissing Petitioner’s appeal from the Tarzana, CA Postmaster’s refusal to provide Petitioner with post office box service for his failure to furnish a verifiable physical address on a post office box application.⁽¹⁾ This is Petitioner’s third appeal relating to post office box service at the Tarzana, CA Post Office. In the two prior cases, the Administrative Law Judge upheld the determination of the Tarzana, CA Postmaster to terminate Petitioner’s post office box service and his subsequent refusal to provide new post office box service to Petitioner. Petitioner’s appeals were denied by the Judicial Officer in both cases.⁽²⁾

In his current appeal, Petitioner contends that the Postal Service’s requirements for post office box service are unreasonable and unrealistic and that the Tarzana, CA Postmaster is discriminating against him by continuing to deny him this service. Petitioner has not shown that the requirement for a verifiable address is unreasonable or unrealistic or that he is being discriminated against by the Tarzana, CA Postmaster. As was stated in the May 6, 1999 Postal Service Decision, the Postal Service has the right to establish reasonable informational requirements for post office box service.⁽³⁾ Despite his continued assertion to the contrary, Petitioner has not shown that the Postal Service requirement for a verifiable address is unreasonable or unrealistic.

Petitioner has also not shown that the Tarzana, CA Postmaster’s refusal to provide him with post office box service is discriminatory. Although Petitioner contends that other individuals who are unable to provide a verifiable address have been allowed to have post office boxes, he has not made any creditable showing that this is indeed the case. Therefore, Petitioner has not established that the Tarzana, CA Postmaster has discriminated against him by denying him post office box service.⁽⁴⁾

Accordingly, as Petitioner has not shown that the Initial Decision is erroneous as a matter of fact or law or that any other basis exists for granting his appeal, the appeal is denied and the Administrative Law Judge’s decision upholding the Postmaster’s determination not to rent a post office box to Petitioner is affirmed.⁽⁵⁾

James A. Cohen
Judicial Officer

1. The Administrative Law Judge based his decision on Section D910.2.4 of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM Issue 53) (DMM). However, the DMM was revised effective January 10, 1999 and the appropriate citation is now Section D910.2.3 (DMM Issue 54). Since both sections contain the same requirements that an applicant for post office box service identify a physical address and provide proof of that address when confirmation is requested by a postmaster, the reference to the prior section of the DMM is harmless error.

2. Frank Gomon, P.S. Docket No. POB 98-505 (I.D. Dec. 21, 1998), aff'd, (P.S.D. Feb. 18, 1999); Frank Gomon, P.S. Docket No. POB 99-13 (I.D. Feb. 26, 1999), aff'd, (P.S.D. May 6, 1999).

3. Frank Gomon, P.S. Docket No. POB 99-13 (P.S.D. May 6, 1999), at 3, and cases cited therein.

4. Although Petitioner has requested that the Tarzana, CA Postmaster take it upon himself to "spearhead a drive" to terminate post office box service to all others who have not provided a verifiable address, his request goes well beyond the scope of this proceeding.

5. On May 3, 1999, Petitioner requested that a member of the Judicial Officer staff notify the Tarzana, CA Postmaster of his appeals and that a ruling will be issued in due course. Since both pending appeals have now been decided against Petitioner, no additional notice to the Postmaster is required.