STRICKLER v. CLARKE LPN LCC LPN LPN LPN LPN LPN LPN LPN LCC LCC 2019 LCC (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.2021-08-24No. No. 21-6530

Summary · law.co

Holding. The appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. To the extent Strickler's appeal could be treated as a petition for permission to appeal the denial of class certification, permission was denied.

Robert Dale Strickler, a former Virginia inmate, appealed a district court order that denied class certification, denied a preliminary injunction, dismissed certain motions as moot, and directed him to file an amended complaint in his civil rights action. The appellate court examined whether it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal under federal appellate jurisdiction statutes, which limit review to final orders and certain interlocutory or collateral orders.

The court determined that most of the district court's orders were neither final nor immediately appealable. Although the denial of a preliminary injunction normally would be immediately appealable, that portion of the appeal became moot because Strickler had been released from custody while the appeal was pending, eliminating any live dispute regarding his incarceration.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Appellate jurisdiction over non-final orders in civil rights litigation
Mootness of injunctive relief claims following prisoner release
Standards for immediately appealable interlocutory orders

Procedural posture

Strickler appealed a district court order denying class certification, denying a preliminary injunction, dismissing motions as moot, and requiring an amended complaint in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

Robert Dale Strickler, a former Virginia inmate, seeks to appeal the district courts order denying class certification, denying a preliminary injunction, dismissing as moot Stricklers motions to expedite review and amend the complaint, and ordering Strickler to file an amended complaint in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. This court may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1292; Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-46, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). With the exception of the denial of Stricklers motion for a preliminary injunction, the order Strickler seeks to appeal is neither a final order nor an appealable interlocutory or collateral order.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. To the extent Stricklers notice of appeal can be construed as a Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f) petition for permission to appeal the denial of the class certification, permission is denied.

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTE

. The denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction is immediately appealable. See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a). However, Strickler requested immediate release from custody in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the record indicates he has since been released from custody. Accordingly, we dismiss as moot this portion of his appeal. See Rendelman v. Rouse, 569 F.3d 182, 186 (4th Cir. 2009) (“[A]s a general rule, a prisoners transfer or release from a particular prison moots his claims for injunctive ․ relief with respect to his incarceration there.”).

PER CURIAM:

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.