A federal appeals court restored federal gender and age discrimination charges filed by a former Detroit school administrator on the basis a rival candidate for a new position had been preselected.

Gregory Stokes, who is now 59,  worked for the Detroit Public Schools for almost 10 years, and in his last position served as acting deputy executive director to the executive director of human resources, according to Tuesday’s ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in Gregory Stokes v. Detroit Public Schools.

Around the time Mr. Stokes became an acting deputy, the school district contracted with The New Teacher Project Inc., a New York-based consulting group, to help restructure how the school district was run.

TNTP created the new position of executive director-talent acquisition, and Chanel Hampton, 28, applied for the job, according to the ruling. Ms. Hampton, Mr. Stokes and another applicant were interviewed for the position, which was awarded to Ms. Hampton.

Mr. Stokes filed suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit charging violation of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act as well as state law. The district court granted the school district summary judgment in dismissing the case.

A three-judge appeals court panel reinstated the ADA and ADEA claims. The panel concluded that irregularities in the interview process “do not rise to the level of establishing a genuine dispute as to pretext for Stokes’ Title VII and ADEA claims.”

It also concluded Mr. Stokes had failed to “show a genuine issue of material fact as to pretext” based on qualifications evidence.

However, the panel said Mr. Stokes’ argument that the Detroit Public schools, through the consulting firm, preselected Ms. Hampton for the position “creates a genuine dispute as to pretext for Stokes’ Title VII and ADEA claims,” despite the school district’s contention he was not selected because of his interview performance.

The ruling cites, among other evidence,  a letter written before the interview from a TNTP acquisition manager in which he asked about Ms. Hampton’s status, stating, “Ideally she would interview for (the Deputy Superintendent of Talent) role and, if strong but not quite qualified for that position … she would be offered the (executive director-talent acquisition) position.”

“Thus, Stokes has shown that TNTP may have preselected Hampton – or at least that a rational juror could make that finding,” the ruling said.

Mr. Stokes “has shown that there is a genuine dispute regarding whether DPS’ interview justification is pretextual,” it said in reinstating his Title VII and ADEA claims.

Mr. Stokes’ attorney, Leonard Mungo, of the Mungo Law Firm PLC in Detroit, said he was surprised the appeals court did not reinstate the case on the basis of the interview irregularities and qualification issues.

“I think we’re seeing a trend in these employment cases … in which we need more and more facts to establish pretext in considering the totality of the factual undergirdings of these cases, particularly in light of the recent decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court in Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American Media et al., he said.

In that unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision to let comedian-turned-media executive Byron Allen's $10 billion lawsuit accusing cable television operator Charter Communications Inc. of discriminating against black-owned channels move forward.

The school system’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.