Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca4-06-06981/USCOURTS-ca4-06-06981-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 

---

Document 1

Document 2

Appeal: 06-6981 Doc: 18 Filed: 10/27/2006 Pg: 1 of 4
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Lewis F. Powell, Jr. United States Courthouse Annex

1100 E. Main Street, Suite 501

Richmond, Virginia 23219-3517

Patricia S. Connor

Clerk

www.ca4.uscourts.gov Telephone

(804) 916-2700

 October 27, 2006

 TO: Dontez Lamont Simuel

 James Philip Allen, Esq.

 Enclosed is a copy of the Court's decision in

 Case Number(s): 06-6981

 PATRICIA S. CONNOR

 CLERK

 Enclosure(s)

Appeal: 06-6981 Doc: 18 Filed: 10/27/2006 Pg: 2 of 4
UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 06-6981

DONTEZ LAMONT SIMUEL,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

versus

PAULA SMITH; REGGIE WEISNER; WHITNER; MATT

CLARK; NIMAN; VALERIE CARSWELL; BELL; HATTIE

PIMPONG; MITCH JOHNSON,

Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western

District of North Carolina, at Statesville. Graham C. Mullen,

Senior District Judge. (5:04-cv-00182)

Submitted: October 18, 2006 Decided: October 27, 2006

Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.

Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Dontez Lamont Simuel, Appellant Pro Se. James Philip Allen, NORTH

CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for

Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

Appeal: 06-6981 Doc: 18 Filed: 10/27/2006 Pg: 3 of 4
- 2 -

PER CURIAM:

Dontez Lamont Simuel seeks to appeal the district court’s

order granting Appellees summary judgment and dismissing his 42

U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) action. The district court’s judgment was

entered on the docket on April 5, 2006. Simuel’s notice of appeal

was not received by the district court until May 19, 2006.

According Simuel the benefit of Fed. R. App. P. 4(c) and Houston v.

Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988), the earliest date his notice of appeal

may be deemed filed is May 16, 2006.

Although Simuel’s notice of appeal was filed beyond the

30-day window for filing a timely notice of appeal, the

“declaration” Simuel enclosed with his notice states that he

initially mailed his notice within the prescribed time period, but

had it returned to him in an envelope marked “address unknown.”

This declaration, which was submitted within thirty days of the

expiration of the appeal period, may be properly construed as a

motion for an extension of time in which to note an appeal under

Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5). 

Accordingly, we remand the case to the district court for

the limited purpose of determining whether Simuel can satisfy the

requirements for an extension of the appeal period under Rule

4(a)(5). The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to

this court for further consideration.

REMANDED

Appeal: 06-6981 Doc: 18 Filed: 10/27/2006 Pg: 4 of 4