Michael D. Dobbins v. Department of Transportation

N OTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
MICHAEL D. DOBBINS,
Petitioner
v.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,
Respondent
______________________
2024-2290
______________________
Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection
Board in No. CH-0752-18-0471-I-1.
______________________
Before D YK, C UNNINGHAM , and STARK, Circuit Judges.
P ER CURIAM .
O R D E R
The Merit Systems Protection Board affirmed Michael
D. Dobbins’s demotion and rejected his affirmative defense
of discrimination based on race, which Mr. Dobbins contin-
ues to pursue. Following this court’s November 19, 2024,
order directing the parties to address this court’s jurisdic-
tion, both parties argue this court lacks jurisdiction and
should transfer the matter to the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Case: 24-2290 Document: 15 Page: 1 Filed: 01/14/2025

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DOBBINS v. TRANSPORTATION 2
Federal district courts, not this court, have jurisdiction
over “[c]ases of discrimination subject to the provisions of
[5 U.S.C. §] 7702,” 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2), which involve an
allegation of an action appealable to the Board and an al-
legation that a basis for the action was covered discrimina-
tion, § 7702. Perry v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 582 U.S. 420,
437 (2017). Here, Mr. Dobbins raised a claim of covered
discrimination before the Board and continues to pursue
that claim such that his case belongs in district court. We
agree with the parties that transfer to the Eastern District
of Michigan, where the employment action appears to have
occurred, is appropriate. 28 U.S.C. § 1631.
Accordingly,
I T I S O RDERED T HAT :
This matter and all case filings are transferred to the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Michigan pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631.
January 14, 2025
Date
F OR THE COURT
Case: 24-2290 Document: 15 Page: 2 Filed: 01/14/2025

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