Charles E. Gore v. Jacobs Engineering Group, 706 F. App'x 981

Charles Gore, an African-American former resident inspector for Jacobs Engineering Group, sued JEG alleging race discrimination under Title VII and age discrimination under the ADEA after his March 11, 2013 termination following elimination of his New Orleans position. He had an EEOC charge and received a right-to-sue letter.
JEG moved to dismiss and later to strike some claims; the magistrate judge allowed Gore to amend and then recommended dismissing all claims except the Title VII race claim because Gore’s amended complaint omitted any age-discrimination allegations.
After discovery, JEG moved for summary judgment, asserting legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons: the client eliminated the New Orleans resident-inspector position, Gore failed to obtain another placement before company leave expired, many positions he sought were withdrawn or filled by local candidates, and managers reported Gore was difficult to work with.
Gore identified John Blaha as a comparator, but records showed Blaha worked in a different geographic area and on different types of projects (water/wastewater vs. transportation), and had different seniority and assignment history.
The magistrate recommended granting summary judgment for JEG on the Title VII claim and the district court adopted the R&R; the court also dismissed the ADEA claim for abandonment and denied Gore’s procedural motions (IFP on appeal and default entry) as moot or outside jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Gore was terminated because of race (Title VII)	Gore contends he was fired while a non-Black comparator (Blaha) remained employed, showing disparate treatment	JEG says termination resulted from elimination of the position, Gore failed to secure new placement, and Blaha was not a proper, nearly identical comparator	Summary judgment for JEG affirmed; Gore offered no direct evidence and Blaha was not nearly identical, so no prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas
Whether dismissal of ADEA claim was improper (Rule 12(b)(6))	Gore asserts age discrimination claim should proceed	JEG notes amended complaint omitted age claims and Gore failed to respond to dismissal arguments	Dismissal affirmed: Gore abandoned ADEA claim by failing to plead or brief it
Whether denial of leave to proceed IFP on appeal was erroneous	Gore argues he was unaware he had to list appeal issues in his IFP motion	JEG argues district court denial is not reviewable here and Gore did not seek leave in this Court	Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction (district denial not final); moot if construed as filed because Gore paid filing fee
Whether default/default judgment was wrongly denied	Gore contends JEG never served an answer and default was warranted	JEG points to timely filing of motion to dismiss and amended complaint rendered original pleading moot	Dismissed as moot/no jurisdiction because original complaint was superseded by amended complaint

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (plur. op.) (burden-shifting framework for circumstantial discrimination)
Wilson v. B/E Aerospace, Inc., 376 F.3d 1079 (11th Cir. 2004) (direct vs. circumstantial evidence; comparator standard "nearly identical")
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (summary judgment requires sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury)
Quigg v. Thomas County School District, 814 F.3d 1227 (11th Cir. 2016) (summary-judgment standard and drawing inferences for nonmoving party)
Tannenbaum v. United States, 148 F.3d 1262 (11th Cir. 1998) (pro se pleadings construed liberally)
Glover v. Liggett Group, Inc., 459 F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 2006) (standard of review for Rule 12(b)(6))
Coal. for the Abolition of Marijuana Prohibition v. City of Atlanta, 219 F.3d 1301 (11th Cir. 2000) (failure to brief an issue is abandonment)
Gomez v. United States, 245 F.2d 346 (5th Cir. 1957) (district court denial of IFP is not immediately appealable)
Frulla v. CRA Holdings, Inc., 543 F.3d 1247 (11th Cir. 2008) (mootness doctrine when relief cannot be given)
Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206 (11th Cir. 1981) (pre-1981 Fifth Circuit decisions binding on Eleventh Circuit)