On December 4th he appealed his discharge to the Civil Service Commission. On December 6th the regional director of the Commission notified Finfer that his appeal would be rejected for non-compliance with the ten-day rule, outlined in the IRS discharge notice of May 5, 1960, unless he could show that he was unaware of this time limit or that circumstances over which he had no control had prevented a timely appeal. On December 12th Finfer replied that the illness of his former counsel and possible prejudice to his rights in the then pending criminal trial had been the cause of his delay. On December 22nd Finfer was informed by the regional director that he had not presented satisfactory reasons for his failure to comply with the ten-day ruleand that his request for a waiver of the rule was accordingly denied. Finfer appealed this determination to the Civil Service Board of Appeals and Review on December 26th but on January 18, 1962, the Board upheld the decision of the regional director and concluded that there was no reason to waive the ten-day time limit. On March 9, 1962, his alternative attempt to secure belated relief ended in failure when the IRS denied his request for reinstatement.


6
Finfer then brought the present suit in the Eastern District of New York on April 12, 1963, against the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for a declaratory judgment that his removal as a Revenue Officer was improper and that he be reinstated2 in the IRS. Plaintiff and defendant each moved for summary