Coffman v. Glickman

KRIEGER, District Judge. Dewey Coffman brought this civil rights action following review by the Merit Systems Protections Board (MSPB) of his termination from employment by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both before the MSPB and in this action, Mr. Coffman alleged that he was terminated by the USDA based upon illegal discrimination related to age, disability and in retaliation for filing prior discrimination complaints. Upon motion of the USDA, the district court found that Mr. Coffman's claims of unlawful discrimination had been ""eliminated"" by the MSPB, thereby extinguishing the ""mixed"" nature of the case. As a consequence, the district court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction and dismissed and transferred the action to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mr. Coffman appeals from such order. We REVERSE and remand for further proceedings.