[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

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No. 17-12570

Non-Argument Calendar

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D.C. Docket No. 5:14-cv-00096-RH-GRJ

VERSIAH TAYLOR, 

 Plaintiff-Appellant,

 versus

CHRISTOPHER PEKEROL,

IRS-CI Agent, et al.,

 Defendants,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Defendant-Appellee.

________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Florida

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(January 7, 2019)

Before MARCUS, MARTIN and NEWSOM, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

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Versiah Taylor, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals: (1) the denial 

of his motions for appointed counsel; (2) the partial dismissal of his third amended 

complaint, which raised Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Amendment Bivens1 claims, 

unlawful disclosure claims under 26 U.S.C. § 7431, and conspiracy claims under 

42 U.S.C. § 1985 against the United States, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) 

agents Christopher Pekerol and Margaret Weiss, and United States Marshall Glenn 

Miller; and (3) the grant of summary judgment on his surviving unlawful 

disclosure claims. His case stems from an IRS investigation into his three 

businesses. During the course of the investigation, Taylor was arrested by state 

officials for cocaine possession and released on bond. Thereafter, Taylor was 

arrested by federal officials, remained in federal custody pretrial and throughout 

his trial, and ultimately, was found guilty by a jury of filing false tax returns, theft 

of government property, and identity theft.

On appeal, Taylor argues that the district court: (1) abused its discretion in 

denying his motions to appoint counsel and in not telling him the denials were 

immediately appealable; (2) erred in dismissing his Bivens and § 1985 claims 

because the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity on his 

constitutional claims, and he sufficiently pled his § 1985 claim; (3) erred in 

 1 Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971).

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granting summary judgment before addressing a pending discovery motion; and 

(4) violated his right to a jury trial. After careful review, we affirm. 

I.

First, we reject Taylor’s claim that the district court abused its discretion in 

handling his motion to appoint counsel. We review a district court’s decision not 

to appoint counsel for abuse of discretion. Smith v. Sch. Bd. of Orange Cty., 487 

F.3d 1361, 1365 (11th Cir. 2007). “A district court abuses its direction if it applies 

an incorrect legal standard, applies the law in an unreasonable or incorrect manner, 

follows improper procedures in making a determination, or makes findings of fact 

that are clearly erroneous.” Citizens for Police Accountability Political Comm. v. 

Browning, 572 F.3d 1213, 1216-17 (11th Cir. 2009). The denial of a motion for 

appointment of counsel is not immediately appealable. See Holt v. Ford, 862 F.2d 

850, 851-54 (11th Cir. 1989) (en banc) (§ 1983 case). 

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may file objections to a 

magistrate judge’s ruling on nondispositive matters within 14 days of being served 

with the order. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a). A pro se litigant’s failure to timely challenge 

a magistrate judge’s nondispositive order in the district court waives the right to 

appeal the order. Smith, 487 F.3d at 1365; Farrow v. West, 320 F.3d 1235, 1248 

n.21 (11th Cir. 2003). A pro se prisoner’s court filings are deemed filed on the 

date they were delivered to prison authorities for mailing and are assumed to have 

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been delivered on the date of signing, absent evidence to the contrary. Daker v. 

Comm’r, Ga. Dep’t of Corrs., 820 F.3d 1278, 1286 (11th Cir. 2016).

“A plaintiff in a civil case has no constitutional right to counsel.” Bass v. 

Perrin, 170 F.3d 1312, 1320 (11th Cir. 1999). However, a district court may 

request, but not require, that an attorney represent an indigent plaintiff. 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(e)(1); see Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Court for S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 

310 (1989) (holding that the statute does not authorize “coercive appointments of 

counsel”). The court has broad discretion in deciding to appoint counsel and 

should do so only in “exceptional circumstances,” where the facts and legal issues 

are so complex that the assistance of counsel is required. Bass, 170 F.3d at 1320;

Kilgo v. Ricks, 983 F.2d 189, 193 (11th Cir. 1993). 

For starters, Taylor failed to timely object to the magistrate judge’s denial of 

his motion to appoint counsel, thus waiving the right to appeal from it. See Smith, 

487 F.3d at 1365; Farrow, 320 F.3d at 1248 n.21. But even if the denial of his 

application for a lawyer were properly before us, we would conclude that the 

district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that it lacked authority to 

compel any lawyer to represent Taylor. The Supreme Court held in Mallard that 

district courts have no authority to compel a lawyer under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 to 

represent a party in a civil case, and there is no binding precedent that a district 

court has the inherent power to do so. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Mallard, 490 

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U.S. at 310; Citizens for Police Accountability, 572 F.3d at 1216-17. Moreover, 

the denial of counsel was not an immediately appealable order. See Holt, 862 F.2d 

at 851-54. 

II.

Next, we disagree with Taylor that the district court erroneously dismissed

his Bivens and § 1985 claims against Miller, Pekerol, and Weiss. Typically, we 

review de novo the grant of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Chaparro v. Carnival Corp., 693 F.3d 1333, 1335 (11th 

Cir. 2012). But, if a party, after being notified of the time to file objections and the 

consequences of failing to do so, fails to properly object to a magistrate judge’s 

Report and Recommendation (“R&R”), he “waives the right to challenge on appeal 

the district court’s order based on unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions.” 

11th Cir. R. 3-1. This means that “the party may not challenge them on appeal in 

the absence of plain error or manifest injustice.” Resolution Trust Corp. v. 

Hallmark Builders, Inc., 996 F.2d 1144, 1149 (11th Cir. 1993). 

While we read briefs filed by pro se litigants liberally, issues not briefed on 

appeal are deemed abandoned. Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 

2008). An appellant abandons a claim when he makes only passing references to 

it, or raises it in a perfunctory manner without supporting arguments and authority. 

Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 681 (11th Cir. 2014). In 

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addition, we usually will not consider issues that were not raised in the district 

court. Access Now, Inc. v. Sw. Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1331-32 (11th Cir. 

2004). 

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual 

matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. 

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). A claim is facially plausible when the 

plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw a reasonable inference 

that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Id. While district courts

should construe pro se complaints liberally, Powell v. Lennon, 914 F.2d 1459, 

1463 (11th Cir. 2007), conclusory allegations, unwarranted deductions of facts, or 

legal conclusions masquerading as facts will not prevent dismissal. Oxford Asset 

Mgmt., Ltd. v. Jaharis, 297 F.3d 1182, 1188 (11th Cir. 2002).

Government officials may avoid liability under the doctrine of qualified 

immunity. Alcocer v. Mills, 906 F.3d 944, 950-51 (11th Cir. 2018). To receive 

qualified immunity, officials first must establish that they were acting within the 

scope of their discretionary authority. Id. at 951. If they do so, the burden shifts to 

the plaintiff to show that the officials were not entitled to qualified immunity both:

(1) because they violated a constitutional right, and (2) because the violation was 

clearly established. Id. 

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The Supreme Court held in Bivens that there exists an implied private right 

of action for damages against federal officers for violating a citizen’s constitutional 

rights. Corr. Servs. Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61, 66 (2001). The violation must, 

however, be the proximate cause of damages. Dean v. Gladney, 621 F.2d 1331, 

1335 (5th Cir. 1980).2 Because claims arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens

are similar, we generally apply § 1983 law to Bivens cases. Abella v. Rubino, 63 

F.3d 1063, 1065 (11th Cir. 1995). To establish a claim for conspiracy to violate 

constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the plaintiff must show the existence 

of a conspiracy that actually deprived him of a specific constitutional right. Grider 

v. City of Auburn, Ala., 618 F.3d 1240, 1260 (11th Cir. 2010).

Section 1985 provides a way to redress conspiracies to violate civil rights. 

42 U.S.C. § 1985; Farese v. Scherer, 342 F.3d 1223, 1230 (11th Cir. 2003). 

Section 1985(3) creates a cause of action for conspiracies that deprive any person 

or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and 

immunities under the laws. 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). To state a § 1985(3) claim, a 

plaintiff must allege facts showing “(1) a conspiracy, (2) for the purpose of 

depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal 

protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws; and 

(3) an act in furtherance of the conspiracy, (4) whereby a person is either injured in 

 2 In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), we adopted as 

binding precedent all Fifth Circuit decisions issued before October 1, 1981.

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his person or property of any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States.” 

Childree v. UAP/GA CHEM, Inc., 92 F.3d 1140, 1146-47 (11th Cir. 1996). To 

establish the second element, a plaintiff must show “some racial, or perhaps 

otherwise class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus behind the conspirators’ 

action.” Id. at 1247 (quotation omitted). Qualified immunity is not available as a 

defense to a 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) claim. Johnson v. City of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 

126 F.3d 1372, 1379 (11th Cir. 1997).

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures,

requiring that warrants be supported by probable cause and particularly describe 

the area to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. U.S. Const. amend. 

IV. Warrant applications must contain sufficient information to establish probable 

cause. Holmes v. Kucynda, 321 F.3d 1069, 1083 (11th Cir. 2003). Probable cause 

to search is founded on a “fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime 

will be found in a particular place.” Feliciano v. City of Miami Beach, 707 F.3d 

1244, 1251 (11th Cir. 2013) (quotation omitted). If an officer obtains a warrant by 

making false statements intentionally and recklessly in an application, the Fourth 

Amendment is violated and he lacks qualified immunity. Franks v. Delaware, 438 

U.S. 154, 154-56 (1978); Holmes, 321 F.3d at 1083. Regardless of the officer’s 

liability, however, a warrant will be valid if the false statements were immaterial to 

the existence of probable cause. Madiwale v. Savaiko, 117 F.3d 1321, 1326 (11th 

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Cir. 1997). While the scope of a search pursuant to a search warrant is governed 

by its terms, a search may be as extensive as necessary to locate the items specified 

in the warrant, so long as it is reasonable in light of the totality of the 

circumstances. United States v. Waugneux, 683 F.2d 1343, 1352 (11th Cir. 1982).

The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment protects against 

deprivations of “life liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const.

amend. V. A criminal defendant must be released before trial on personal 

recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured bond, unless the court determines 

that release will not reasonably ensure his appearance or will endanger the safety 

of others. 18 U.S.C. § 3142(b). When there is a serious risk of flight or 

obstruction of justice, the court, on its own or upon a motion by the government, 

must hold a detention hearing to determine whether any conditions will reasonably 

assure the defendant’s appearance and the safety of the others. Id. § 3142(f)(2). If 

after the hearing the court determines that no condition or combination of 

conditions will suffice, it shall order that the defendant be placed in pretrial 

detention. Id. § 3142(e). 

The Interstate Agreement on Detainers (“IAD”) is an agreement between 48 

states, the United States, and the District of Columbia that creates uniform 

procedures for lodging and executing a detainer. Alabama v. Bozeman, 533 U.S. 

146, 148 (2001). “A detainer is a request filed by a criminal justice agency with 

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the institution in which a prisoner is incarcerated, asking the institution either to 

hold the prisoner for the agency or to notify the agency when release of the 

prisoner is imminent.” Carchman v. Nash, 473 U.S. 716, 719 (1985). Under 

Article III of the IAD, a person who has “entered upon a term of imprisonment,” 

and against whom a detainer has been lodged regarding pending charges in another 

state, may request a final disposition on his pending charges. 18 U.S.C. App. 2 § 2 

Art. III(a). The officer having custody over the prisoner must then notify all 

prosecuting officers and courts where the request is being sent. Id. Art. III(b). The 

prisoner must be brought to trial within 180 days of the notice, otherwise the 

charges must be dismissed. Id. Art. III(a), (d).

A claim for selective prosecution is analyzed as an equal protection claim 

brought under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. See United States v. 

Armstrong, 517 U.S. 456, 464 (1996); Geaneas v. Willets, 911 F.2d 579, 587 (11th 

Cir. 1990). An individual claiming that he was subject to selective prosecution 

must establish both a discriminatory effect and purpose, i.e. that (1) similarly 

situated individuals were not prosecuted and (2) discriminatory animus was behind 

the disparate treatment. See United States v. Brantley, 803 F.3d 1265, 1271 (11th 

Cir. 2015); cf. Strickland v. Alderman, 74 F.3d 260, 264 (11th Cir. 1996) (listing 

elements of § 1983 claim for selective enforcement of a standing water ordinance).

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The Eighth Amendment provides that “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, 

nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” U.S. 

Const. amend. VIII. It does not guarantee a right to bail, only that whatever bail 

imposed not be excessive. Campbell v. Johnson, 586 F.3d 835, 842 (11th Cir. 

2009). “[T]he test for excessiveness is whether the terms of release are designed to 

ensure a compelling interest of the government.” Id. at 843. The Code of 

Alabama provides that when a defendant is charged with an offense punishable by 

less than ten years, “the judge or court must also direct the clerk of court . . . to 

admit the defendant to bail in a sum which may be prescribed by the court.” Ala. 

Code § 12-22-222(b) (1975). Similarly, Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 7.2 

gives the court the authority to impose certain conditions of release, including 

requiring that a defendant post bond, if the court determines that pretrial release 

will not reasonably assure his appearance or that he poses a real and present danger

to others. Ala. R. Crim. P. 7.2(a); see Ala. R. Crim. P. 7.3(b).

Here, because Taylor failed to object to the magistrate judge’s R&R 

recommending the dismissal of his constitutional claims against the IRS agents, we 

review those claims only for plain error or manifest injustice. See Resolution Trust 

Corp., 996 F.2d at 1149.3 Taylor essentially brought two sets of claims against 

 3 We decline to review Taylor’s newly raised issues about whether he stated a claim under the 

Federal Tort Claims Act, whether there was a speedy trial violation, and whether he stated an 

excessive detention claim under the Eighth Amendment, since they were not presented to the 

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them: (1) that the IRS agents conspired with state officials to have him detained; 

and (2) that the IRS agents conspired to subject African American businesses to 

unreasonable searches and seizures. The district court’s dismissal of those claims 

was not plainly erroneous nor manifestly unjust. 

First, as for his claims concerning his detention by the state, Taylor’s § 1985 

claims fail because he did not allege that the purpose of the agents’ actions was 

motivated by any discriminatory animus. See 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3); Childree, 92 

F.3d at 1147. Nor was it plain error, nor manifestly unjust for the district court to 

dismiss his Fourth Amendment claim because no binding precedent addresses

whether contacting state authorities and asking them to hold a state defendant for 

questioning constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation. See Resolution Trust 

Corp., 996 F.2d at 1149. As for his Eighth Amendment excessive bail claim, the 

complaint does not allege any facts indicating that the IRS agents directly 

participated in the bail process, by, for example, requesting that bail be imposed or 

preventing the state court judge from exercising his discretion. Ala. Code § 12-22-

222(b) (1975); Ala. R. Crim. P. 7.2; Dean, 621 F.2d at 1335. Since we can find no 

 

district court. See Access Now, Inc., 385 F.3d at 1331. In addition, Taylor has not raised in his 

brief -- and has therefore abandoned -- any issue about the district court’s determination that his 

claims against the United States and his official capacity claims were barred by sovereign 

immunity, that the individual defendants were acting within their discretionary authority, that he 

was not entitled to notice of the Turbo Tax subpoena, that the electronic surveillance did not 

constitute a Fourth Amendment violation, that he failed to state a Fifth Amendment claim in 

Count 60, and that he failed to state a Fourth Amendment claim against Miller. See Timson, 518 

F.3d at 874. 

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plain error or manifest injustice in the dismissal of his constitutional claims, we 

can find no plain error or manifest injustice in the agents’ entitlement to qualified 

immunity as to this set of claims. See Alcocer, 906 F.3d at 951. 

As for Taylor’s general claims about unreasonable searches and seizures 

directed at African American businesses, Taylor’s conspiracy claims arising under 

§§ 1983 and 1985 rested upon a legal conclusion, but without any supporting facts 

suggesting in any way how the agents’ actions were discriminatory. See 42 U.S.C. 

§ 1985(3); Grider, 618 F.3d at 1260; Childree, 92 F.3d at 1147; Oxford Asset 

Mgmt., Ltd., 297 F.3d at 1188. Taylor also failed to state a claim for selective 

prosecution because he did not offer any facts indicating that the law was being 

enforced differently on account of race. See Brantley, 803 F.3d at 1271. As for

the Fourth Amendment claims that the agents made a series of misrepresentations 

in obtaining warrants to search two of Taylor’s businesses, the complaint does not 

indicate that the alleged misrepresentations were made either intentionally or 

recklessly. See Franks, 438 U.S. at 154-56; Holmes, 321 F.3d at 1083. 

Moreover, Taylor failed to state a Fourth Amendment claim about the 

execution of the first search warrant. Because the complaint does not state how the 

purported representations were essential to establish probable cause or what the 

scope of the search warrant was, we cannot determine whether the agents abused 

their discretion in blocking the entrance to his business, questioning clients, and 

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conducting a visual search of his office. See Savaiko, 117 F.3d at 1326; 

Waugneux, 683 F.2d at 1352. As for his Fourth Amendment claim concerning the

second search warrant and the seizure of some documents, again he failed to allege 

how the agents’ statements were false or why they were essential to a 

determination of probable cause. See Savaiko, 117 F.3d at 1326.4

 Thus, the 

magistrate judge did not plainly err nor commit manifest injustice by determining 

that the IRS agents were entitled to qualified immunity as to this set of claims.

Nor did the district court err in dismissing Taylor’s constitutional claims 

leveled against United States Marshal Miller, which essentially allege that Miller 

conspired to deprive him of bail in federal district court. Taylor failed to state a 

Fifth Amendment claim because his complaint says that he stipulated to a waiver 

of his federal detention hearing and, therefore, Miller could not be the proximate 

cause of the denial of pretrial release. See Gladney, 621 F.2d at 1335. As for his 

claim based on the IAD -- which allows a person who has “entered upon a term of 

imprisonment,” and against whom a detainer has been lodged based on pending 

 4 As for Taylor’s reliance on Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616 (1886), overruled in part by

Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294 (1967), we are unpersuaded. In Boyd, the 

Supreme Court held that the compelled production of documents to be used against the furnisher, 

whether under a warrant or subpoena, violated the Fourth Amendment and were rendered 

inadmissible under the Fifth Amendment. Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391, 407 (1976). 

However, the extent of Boyd’s expansive interpretation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments has 

been narrowed. See id. Notably, the Supreme Court has since held that records seized during 

the execution of a search warrant do not implicate the Fifth Amendment. Andresen v. Maryland, 

427 U.S. 463, 466-67, 471-72, 475-77 (1976). Thus, Boyd does not apply to Taylor’s case, since 

Taylor was not compelled to produce anything and Boyd does not apply to items seized during 

the execution of search warrants. See Fisher, 425 U.S. at 407; Andresen, 427 U.S. at 466-67, 

471-72, 475-77.

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charges in another state, to request a final disposition on his pending charges, 18 

U.S.C. App. 2 § 2 Art. III(a) -- it also fails. Under the IAD, a detainer is “a

notification filed with the institution in which a prisoner is serving a sentence, 

advising that he is wanted to face pending criminal charges in another 

jurisdiction.” United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 359 (1978). Notably, the 

notice of bond revocation hearing that Taylor received from the state while he was 

in federal custody did not amount to a “detainer,” since he was not serving a term 

of imprisonment in federal custody, but rather was a pretrial detainee pending trial 

in both state and federal court. See 18 U.S.C. App. 2 § 2 Art. III(a); see also

United States v. Currier, 836 F.2d 11, 16 (1st Cir. 1987) (“The terms of the [IAD]

apply exclusively to prisoners who are actually serving their sentences, and not to 

pretrial detainees.”).

As for his Eighth Amendment claim, Taylor failed to state a claim for 

excessive bail. Taylor appears to argue that Miller deprived him of federal bail 

because the state detainer issue was never resolved before his federal trial and 

sentencing. However, Taylor waived his right to a detention hearing in federal 

court, he failed to challenge his pretrial detention during his federal criminal 

proceeding, and in any event, Miller had no authority to impose or deny him bail in 

a criminal proceeding. Moreover, there is no constitutional right to bail. See

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Campbell, 586 F.3d at 842. Thus, Taylor has failed to allege that Miller deprived 

him of any Eighth Amendment right.

Finally, Taylor did not adequately state a claim for conspiracy against Miller 

under either §§ 1985(3) or 1983. As for the § 1985 claim, Taylor failed to allege 

that the conspiracy was motivated by some discriminatory animus, and, as for the § 

1983 claim, he failed to show that he was actually deprived of a constitutional right 

as a result of any conspiracy. See 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3); Grider, 618 F.3d at 1260; 

Childree, 92 F.3d at 1147. 

III.

We also find no merit to Taylor’s claim that the district court erred in 

granting summary judgment before addressing a pending discovery motion. We 

review a district court order granting summary judgment de novo, viewing “the 

evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn from it in the light most favorable to 

the nonmoving party.” Battle v. Bd. of Regents., 468 F.3d 755, 759 (11th Cir. 

2006). A district court may grant summary judgment if the movant establishes that 

there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to

judgment as a matter of law. Shaw v. City of Selma, 884 F.3d 1093, 1098 (11th 

Cir. 2018). However, summary judgment is not appropriate where the nonmoving 

party has been unable to obtain responses to discovery requests. Fernandez v. 

Bankers Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 906 F.2d 559, 570 (11th Cir. 1990). Where the 

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discovery sought is necessary to obtain facts in order to oppose the motion for 

summary judgment, a district court’s failure to rule on a pending discovery motion 

may constitute reversible error. See id. at 571 (holding that the district court erred 

by not ruling on plaintiff’s motion to compel before granting summary judgment). 

Here, however, the district court did not err by “prematurely” granting 

summary judgment because there was no pending discovery motion. Taylor’s 

discovery motion had been denied before the district court had granted summary 

judgment, therefore, and all that was pending at that time was his motion for 

reconsideration of the denial of that motion. Moreover, Taylor’s motion for 

reconsideration was addressed contemporaneously with the defendant’s motion for 

summary judgment. 

IV.

Finally, we are unpersuaded by Taylor’s claim that the district court violated 

his right to trial by jury. It is, of course, true that the Seventh Amendment 

preserves the right to a jury trial in civil cases. U.S. Const. amend. VII. However, 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorize the dismissal of a plaintiff’s case for 

failure to state a claim before trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Indeed, we’ve 

expressly held that a district court’s dismissal of a case based on a matter of law 

before trial does not violate the Seventh Amendment. See Garvie v. City of Fort 

Walton Beach, Fla., 366 F.3d 1186, 1190 (11th Cir. 2004) (holding that the grant 

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of summary judgment did not violate the Seventh Amendment). And the Supreme 

Court has made clear that the entry of “summary judgment does not violate the 

Seventh Amendment.” Jefferson v. Sewon Am., Inc., 891 F.3d 911, 919 (11th Cir. 

2018) (citing Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322, 336 (1979)). Here, the 

district court did not violate Taylor’s right to a jury trial by dismissing his 

complaint in part and granting summary judgment on the remaining claims. 

AFFIRMED.

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