Byers v. Galey & Lord Inc ( 1998 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
GREGORY BYERS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 97-2063
GALEY & LORD, INCORPORATED,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of South Carolina, at Florence.
Cameron McGowan Currie, District Judge.
(CA-96-1619-4-22BE)
Submitted: May 19, 1998
Decided: June 18, 1998
Before MURNAGHAN, WILKINS, and WILLIAMS,
Circuit Judges.
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Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
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COUNSEL
Gregory Byers, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Allison Phinney,
OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK, STEWART, L.L.P.,
Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Gregory Byers appeals from the district court's judgment accepting
the magistrate judge's recommendation to grant in part and deny in
part the employer's motion for summary judgment in this action filed
under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
Although we express no opinion as to the ultimate success of Byers'
claims, we vacate the district court's judgment and remand for further
proceedings.
Byers filed timely objections to the magistrate judge's report and
recommendation that the motion for summary judgment be granted on
his claims of racial discrimination and retaliation.* The district court
was required to review the disputed issues de novo. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1) (1994); Wimmer v. Cook, 774 F.2d 68, 73 (4th Cir. 1985).
Although the district court's judgment stated that the court heard the
issues, it appears that the court inadvertently failed to consider Byers'
objections to the magistrate judge's report and, therefore, did not con-
duct the required de novo review. See Orpiano v. Johnson, 687 F.2d
44, 47-48 (4th Cir. 1982). We therefore vacate this portion of the dis-
trict court's judgment and remand for the court to conduct the proper
review.
With regard to Byers' gender discrimination claim, the district
court did not address the magistrate judge's recommendation to deny
summary judgment on that claim; rather, the judgment dismissed that
claim without prejudice for failure to prosecute. Because the district
court provided no reasoning for its decision, meaningful appellate
review is not possible. See, e.g., Creekmore v. United States, 905 F.2d
1508, 1512 (11th Cir. 1990) (vacating and remanding district court
order in Federal Tort Claims Act action because court of appeals was
"unwilling to affirm or reverse an opinion whose ultimate holding [it
found] impossible to construe"). On remand, the district court should
address the magistrate judge's recommendation as to the gender dis-
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*Byers did not object to the magistrate judge's recommendation to
deny summary judgment on his gender discrimination claim. We note
that the employer filed no objection to that recommendation.
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crimination claim and provide reasoning sufficient for this court to
review.
Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the district court and
remand for further proceedings in the district court consistent with
this opinion. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
VACATED AND REMANDED
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