Allen v. Houston Independent School District, 689 F. App'x 238

Background

Plaintiff Larry Allen, an African American over 50, worked in HISD’s Transportation Department; he alleges age and race-based mistreatment by supervisor Nathan Graf (reassigning duties, insulting comments, a distorted photo, and a written reprimand).
Allen filed internal EEO complaints and learned his position was being eliminated after HISD consolidated roles and selected Chester Glaude for the combined position; Allen’s contract was not renewed and he was terminated after rejecting a severance offer.
Allen sued under Title VII (race), the ADEA (age), the TCHRA, and later sought to add § 1981 and § 1983 hostile-work-environment and retaliation claims; the district court granted summary judgment for HISD on discrimination claims and mistakenly dismissed all claims, then reconsidered.
Allen moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint adding § 1981 and § 1983 claims after discovery closed; the district court denied leave based on undue delay, closed discovery, and that the motion came after a second summary-judgment filing.
The district court granted summary judgment to HISD on the remaining hostile-work-environment and retaliation claims, finding harassment was not sufficiently severe or pervasive and that HISD offered a legitimate, nonretaliatory reason (reorganization) with no showing of pretext.
Allen appealed denial of leave to amend and summary judgment on retaliation; the Fifth Circuit affirmed, concluding denial of leave was not an abuse of discretion and Allen failed to raise a genuine issue of pretext.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether district court abused discretion in denying leave to amend to add § 1981/§ 1983 claims	Allen: amendment was prompted by court rulings and merely expands legal theories; Title VII pleading put HISD on notice; no undue delay	HISD: amendment came after discovery closed and late timing prejudiced HISD because § 1981/§ 1983 require showing of a government policy/custom, which discovery could have explored	Denial affirmed — delay and closed discovery prejudiced HISD and imposed unwarranted burden; district court did not abuse discretion
Whether summary judgment on retaliation (Title VII/TCHRA) was improper because of temporal proximity, comparators, and qualifications of replacement	Allen: temporal proximity, lack of shown efficiency gains, comparator Aaron Hobbs, and Glaude’s lesser education show pretext	HISD: offered legitimate nonretaliatory reason (reorganization/position elimination); evidence does not show departure from procedure or unqualified replacement	Affirmed — prima facie met, but Allen failed to show pretext; comparator evidence speculative and Glaude’s qualifications not so inferior to infer pretext

Key Cases Cited

Cambridge Toxicology Grp., Inc. v. Exnicios, 495 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2007) (standard of review for denial of leave to amend)
Martin’s Herend Imports, Inc. v. Diamond & Gem Trading U.S.A. Co., 195 F.3d 765 (5th Cir. 1999) (leave to amend denied only for substantial reason like undue delay or prejudice)
Dussouy v. Gulf Coast Inv. Corp., 660 F.2d 594 (5th Cir. 1981) (grounds supporting denial of leave to amend)
Jett v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 491 U.S. 701 (1989) (§ 1983 liability requires governmental policy or custom)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (burden-shifting framework for discrimination/retaliation claims)
Sanders-Burns v. City of Plano, 594 F.3d 366 (5th Cir. 2010) (standard for reviewing summary judgment)
Mayeaux v. La. Health Serv. & Indem. Co., 376 F.3d 420 (5th Cir. 2004) (delay must be undue and prejudicial to justify denying amendment)
Lawrence v. U.T. Med. Branch, 163 F.3d 309 (5th Cir. 1999) (plaintiff bears burden to prove pretext once employer articulates legitimate reason)
McCoy v. City of Shreveport, 492 F.3d 551 (5th Cir. 2007) (evidence of pretext must be more than speculative)
Royal v. CCC & R Tres Arboles, L.L.C., 736 F.3d 396 (5th Cir. 2013) (application of burden-shifting in retaliation context)