Goode v. City of Austin, TX
Goode v. City of Austin, TX
Opinion
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-50152 Summary Calendar
JOHN GOODE, doing business as MR. BONES BBQ,
Plaintiff-Counter Defendant-Appellant,
VERSUS
CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS,
Defendant-Counter Claimant-Appellee,
FINE HOST CORPORATION,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (A-98-CV-144-SS)
November 10, 1999 Before SMITH, BARKSDALE and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:*
Plaintiff John Goode appeals the grant of summary judgment in
favor of defendants. We affirm.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND FACTS
Between 1987 and the present, the City of Austin has enacted
a series of ordinances designed to alleviate discrimination against
women and minorities in the award of city contracts for goods and
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
1 services. The current ordinance, passed in 1996, provides
incentives for city contractors to subcontract with business
enterprises owned by women and minorities (“M/WBE”). The City
employs a certification process that focuses on ownership of the
business to determine M/WBE status.
In 1992, Fine Host Corporation contracted with the City to
provide food services at city venues. Fine Host was obligated
under the contract to make good faith efforts to provide
subcontracting opportunities to food service providers certified as
minority owned businesses.
In 1996, Fine Host subcontracted with Goode, the African-
American owner of Mr. Bones Barbeque, understanding that he had
certified Mr. Bones Barbeque as a M/WBE. Although Mr. Bones had
been certified as an M/WBE in 1992-93, he chose not to renew the
certification after it expired in 1993. He explained that he had
privacy concerns and did not want to continue to reveal personal
and financial information as was required by the certification
process. In August 1996, after Goode refused to obtain a current
M/WBE certification, Fine Host terminated its contract with Goode
and replaced him with another African-American owned barbeque
vendor.
Goode brought this
42 U.S.C. §§ 1981and 1983 suit against the
City of Austin and Fine Host alleging that he was the victim of
intentional racial discrimination when Fine Host terminated his
contract. Goode also asserted breach of contract claims against
Austin and Fine Host. All parties filed motions for summary
2 judgment. The district court granted summary judgment for
defendants on the merits of the breach of contract claims. The
district court dismissed Goode’s racial discrimination claims,
finding that Goode had suffered no injury-in-fact and accordingly
lacked standing. Finally, the district court denied Goode’s cross-
motion for summary judgment without discussion.
JURISDICTION
Goode filed a pro se notice of appeal, stating only that he
was appealing “the decision of the trial court to dismiss his
claims[.]” However, Goode’s brief alleges that the district court
erred in denying his motion for partial summary judgment on
liability. Generally, a notice of appeal “shall designate the
judgment, order or part thereof being appealed.” FED. R. APP. P.
3(c)(1)(B)(1994). Because Goode did not apprise this court in his
Notice of Appeal that he intended to appeal the district court’s
denial of his motion for partial summary judgment, we do not have
jurisdiction to review that decision. See C.A. May Marine Supply
Co. v. Brunswick Corp.,
649 F.2d 1049, 1056(5th Cir. 1981). Our
jurisdiction is therefore limited to Goode’s challenge to the
district court’s dismissal of his discrimination claims.
STANDING
Federal courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate only actual
cases or controversies. See Valley Forge Christian College v.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc.,
454 U.S. 464, 471(1982). The standing doctrine requires that a plaintiff
have “such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to
3 assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of
issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination of
difficult constitutional questions[.]” Baker v. Carr,
369 U.S. 186, 204(1962). Ideological opposition to a government program is
insufficient to confer standing. See Valley Forge,
454 U.S. at 473.
Goode argues that he was injured because he could not take
advantage of Austin’s M/WBE preferences without submitting to
allegedly intrusive certification procedure. He does not dispute
the defendants’ contention that he was free to compete for vending
contracts on an equal, race-neutral basis with all other non-
certified businesses. Further, he does not attack racial
preferences, but complains that the defendants’ system did not
afford such preferential treatment completely devoid of
administrative burden on the beneficiaries.
When a “governmental actor is discriminating on the basis of
race, the resulting injury accords a basis for standing only to
those persons who are personally denied equal treatment by the
challenged discriminatory conduct.” United States v. Hays,
515 U.S. 737, 734-44(1995) (quotations omitted). Because the
“intentionally discriminatory race and gender conscious goals” of
which Goode complains benefitted rather than injured him, we
conclude that Goode lacks standing to attack their
constitutionality.
Based on the foregoing, we AFFIRM the district court’s
dismissal of Goode’s § 1983 action.
4 AFFIRMED.
5
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished