Isaiah Neal v. Troy E. Meink, Secretary of the Air Force, et al.

Whether the Ninth Circuit’s requirement that Title VII plaintiffs make a “specific and substantial” showing of pretext to survive summary judgment is in direct conflict with Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000), and with the First, Fifth, Seventh, and D.C. Circuits, which hold that no such pretext showing is required.

Whether, under Article III and the party-presentation principle recognized in United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 590 U.S. 371 (2020), a federal court of appeals may affirm a dispositive judgment on the basis that the district court raised sua sponte and that no party raised or had a meaningful opportunity to contest.”