NATHAN ROBERTS; FREEDOM TRUCK DISPATCH, LLC, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY; PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY; CIRCULAR BOARD INC., originally named as Circular Board, LLC - Articles

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NATHAN ROBERTS; FREEDOM TRUCK DISPATCH, LLC, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY; PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY; CIRCULAR BOARD INC., originally named as Circular Board, LLC

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 24, 2026

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Benjamin M. Flowers, ASHBROOK BYRNE KRESGE FLOWERS LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Stephanie Schuster, MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP, Washington, D.C., for the Progressive Appellees.

Attorneys 3: ARGUED: Neal Kumar Katyal, MILBANK LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellee Circular Board Inc.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Benjamin M. Flowers, Joseph P. Ashbrook, Julie E. Byrne, ASHBROOK BYRNE KRESGE FLOWERS LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jonathan F. Mitchell, MITCHELL LAW PLLC, Austin, Texas, Gene P. Hamilton, Nicholas R. Barry, AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION, Washington, D.C., for Appellants.

Attorneys 5: ON BRIEF: Stephanie Schuster, MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP, Washington, D.C., for the Progressive Appellees.

Attorneys 6: ON BRIEF: Neal Kumar Katyal, David M. Foster, Reedy C. Swanson, HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellee Circular Board Inc. William A. Jacobson, EQUAL PROTECTION PROJECT OF THE LEGAL INSURRECTION FOUNDATION, Barrington, Rhode Island, Keith Harrison, CROWELL & MORING LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae.

Judge(s): BOGGS, McKEAGUE, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Progressive Preferred Insurance Company and Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (collectively, “Progressive”) partnered with Circular Board Inc. to administer a grant program. Through that program, they offered $25,000 grants to ten small businesses to help them buy a commercial vehicle. Like most grants, the program had a few eligibility requirements. One was that the small business had to be black owned and operated. Nathan Roberts, who is white, learned about the program and started filling out an online application. But he never applied. He closed the application without submitting it after learning that only black-owned businesses could receive the grants. A few months later, Roberts and his company, Freedom Truck Dispatch LLC (collectively, “Roberts”), filed a putative class-action complaint against Progressive and Circular Board for racially discriminatory grantmaking under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. He sought damages and injunctive relief. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Roberts now appeals the dismissal of his damages claims only. Because Roberts has failed to show that he has standing to sue Progressive and Circular Board, we affirm.

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