Gary L. Thurman v. United States Postal Service

NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
GARY L. THURMAN,
Petitioner
v.
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,
Respondent
______________________
2022-2196
______________________
Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection
Board in No. AT-0752-17-0162-I-1.
______________________
Before D YK , BRYSON , and PROST , Circuit Judges.
PER C URIAM.
O R D E R
Having considered the parties’ responses to the court’s
order to show cause, the court now transfers this case to
the United States District Court for the Northern District
of Georgia.
Gary L. Thurman appealed to the Merit Systems Pro-
tection Board, challenging his removal from the United
States Postal Service. Before the Board, Mr. Thurman ar-
gued that the Postal Service violated Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. After the Board issued its final decision
Case: 22-2196 Document: 14 Page: 1 Filed: 12/22/2022

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THURMAN v. USPS 2
affirming the agency’s removal action, Mr. Thurman filed
this petition to review that decision. Mr. Thurman states
that he wishes to continue to pursue his Title VII claim,
ECF No. 3 at 2; ECF No. 6; ECF No. 12.
Although this court has jurisdiction to review certain
decisions of the Board, in cases involving agency actions
appealable to the Board and alleged to be based on Title
VII discrimination, the appropriate forum for review is the
district court. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2) (listing cases of dis-
crimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964); Perry v.
Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 137 S. Ct. 1975, 1985 (2017). Here,
there appears to be no dispute that Mr. Thurman raised a
discrimination claim before the Board, even though the
Board declined to consider it on the grounds that it was
unduly vague and not raised before the administrative
judge.
This court, under 28 U.S.C. § 1631, may, if in the inter-
est of justice, transfer a case to another court where it
“could have been brought at the time it was filed.” Here,
the Postal Service asserts without contradiction that court
is the Northern District of Georgia. While the Postal Ser-
vice urges dismissal over transfer, contending that Mr.
Thurman’s discrimination claim “is arguably frivolous,”
ECF No. 13-1 at 9, we deem it the better course to transfer
to allow the district court to consider any argument on the
merits.
Accordingly,
IT IS O RDERED THAT:
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, this case and all trans-
mittals are transferred to the United States District Court
Case: 22-2196 Document: 14 Page: 2 Filed: 12/22/2022

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THURMAN v. USPS 3
for the Northern District of Georgia.
December 22, 2022
Date
FOR THE C OURT
/s/ Peter R. Marksteiner
Peter R. Marksteiner
Clerk of Court
Case: 22-2196 Document: 14 Page: 3 Filed: 12/22/2022

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