Roland Hacopian v. United States Department of Labor, United States Department of Justice

Appellant Hacopian seeks review of the dismissal of his Freedom of Information Act suit by the district court. The suit was dismissed on the ground that Hacopian had not paid the costs assessed against him in previous similar actions against the same defendants. We hold that a court has the inherent power to dismiss a case for the nonpayment of costs in a prior involuntarily dismissed action that made the same claim. In this instance, we must remand the case to the district court for a determination of whether the earlier suits involved the same claim made here.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Between 1973 and 1975, Hacopian was injured in his employment as a postal worker. His benefits under the Federal Employees Compensation Act were denied in 1980, and he brings this claim for access to relat ed documents under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (1976 & Supp. V 1981), and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (1976 & Supp. V 1981). In response to the Government’s motion, the trial court stayed this action pending payment of costs assessed against Hacopian in three prior actions, Hacopian v. Secretary of Labor, CV-78-0953-DWW, Hacopian v. Departments of Labor & Justice,…