Court Opinion

ID: 9401462
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-13 14:02:29.670726+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:53.001669
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-1520    Document: 12      Page: 1    Filed: 06/13/2023

            NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.

   United States Court of Appeals
       for the Federal Circuit
                   ______________________

                   VINCENT M. MANI,
                       Petitioner

                              v.

      DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
                  SERVICES,
                   Respondent
             ______________________

                         2023-1520
                   ______________________

    Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection
 Board in No. DC-0752-19-0577-I-3.
                 ______________________

     Before PROST, REYNA, and STARK, Circuit Judges.
 PER CURIAM.
                         ORDER
     Vincent M. Mani appealed his removal from the De-
 partment of Health and Human Services to the Merit Sys-
 tems Protection Board, alleging various affirmative
 defenses of discrimination based on his disability, race, na-
 tional origin, and religion. The Board affirmed the re-
 moval, and Dr. Mani petitioned this court for review and
 states that he wishes to continue to pursue his discrimina-
 tion claims, see ECF No. 3 at 1–3; ECF No. 4-1 at 2.
Case: 23-1520    Document: 12      Page: 2    Filed: 06/13/2023

 2                                                MANI   v. HHS

     Responding to the court’s order asking whether this
 case should be transferred, Dr. Mani states that the United
 States District Court for the District of Maryland “may be
 the correct place for [his] case,” ECF No. 10 at 1. The De-
 partment does not oppose transfer to that court. ECF No.
 11. Because the district court is the appropriate forum for
 judicial review of Board decisions involving agency actions
 appealable to the Board and alleged to be based on certain
 types of discrimination, 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2); Perry v.
 Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 582 U.S. 420 (2017); Diggs v. Dep’t of
 Hous. & Urb. Dev., 670 F.3d 1353, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2011),
 we agree that transfer is appropriate to the District of Mar-
 yland. See 28 U.S.C. § 1631. Given our disposition, Dr.
 Mani’s consolidation request, ECF No. 4-1 at 1; ECF No. 10
 at 1, is best addressed to the district court.
     Accordingly,
     IT IS ORDERED THAT:
      Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, this case and all trans-
 mittals are transferred to the United States District Court
 for the District of Maryland.
                                       FOR THE COURT

 June 13, 2023                         /s/ Jarrett B. Perlow
    Date                               Jarrett B. Perlow
                                       Acting Clerk of Court