[ DO NOT PUBLISH] 

## In the 

# United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________
No. 21

- 10062
Non

- Argument Calendar

____________________
JOSEPH NORMAN BROWN, III, Individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated,
Plaintiff

- Appellant,

versus WAYNE IVEY, Sheriff, in his individual and official capacity, MIKE DEMORAT, Chief Deputy Sheriff, in his individual and official capacity, JANE DOE, Law Library Clerk, USCA11 Case: 21-10062 Date Filed: 02/28/2022 Page: 1 of 52 Opinion of the Court 21

- 10062

Defendants

- Appellees.

____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:20

- cv

- 02158

- WWB

- EJK

____________________ Before N EWSOM , L UCK , and L AGOA , Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: Joseph Brown sued several prison officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating his constitutional rights while he was held in pretrial detention in Brevard County, Florida. The district court dismissed his complaint without prejudice because he f ailed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. We affirm.

I

Brown alleged that prison officials “hinder[ed]” his “ability to pursue non frivolous legal claims” by “limiting the amount of legal material an inmate can obtain.” Pl.’s Compl. at 12

– 13. The district court screened Brown’s complaint, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), and sua sponte dismissed it b ecause Brown failed to allege that he had suffered an actual injury
, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) (“[T]he court shall dismiss the case at any time if USCA11 Case: 21-10062 Date Filed: 02/28/2022 Page: 2 of 521

- 10062 Opinion of the Court 3

the court determines that .

. . the action or appeal .

. . fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted.”). 1 Brown appeals that dismissal, contending that it was error for the court to dismiss his complaint without granting him the opp ortunity to amend. We affirm because (1) the district court did not err in determining that Brown’s complaint failed to plead facts sufficient to state a claim for relief, and (2) the court didn’t abuse its discretion in dismissing the complaint without p rejudice rather than affording Brown the opportunity to amend.

II To allege facts sufficient to state a claim, the plaintiff must “plead [ ] factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678 ( 2 009). 2 To state a § 1983 claim arising from the denial of meaningful access to the courts, an inmate must assert “an actual injury,” by demonstrating that his “efforts to pursue a nonfrivolous claim were frustrated or impeded by a deficiency in the prison library or in a legal assistance

1 The district court initially did not specify whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice. But when it denied Brown’s motion for reconsideration, it confirmed that its earlier dismissal was without prejudice.

2 We review “[a] district court’s sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) .

. . de novo , viewing the allegations in the complaint as true.” Hughes v. Lott , 350 F.3d 1157, 11 59

– 6 0 (11th Cir. 2003). USCA11 Case: 21-10062 Date Filed: 02/28/2022 Page: 3 of 54 Opinion of the Court 21

- 10062

progra m or by an official’s action.” Barbour v. Haley , 471 F.3d 1222, 1225 (11th Cir. 2006).

Brown acknowledges that he did not assert “ an actual injury” necessary to state a claim. In fact, he candidly admits that his complaint “stated only mere generalized injuries and did not specify those injuries.” Appellant’s Br. at 15. Therefore, as Brown concedes, the district court correctly conclu ded that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Rather than challenging the bottom

- line conclusion that his complaint was deficient , Brown instead contends that the districtcourt should have afforded him an opportunity to amend his complaint to cure those deficiencies. We review the district court’s sua sponte decision to dismiss

— rather th an instructing the plaintiff to amend his complaint

— for abuse of discretion. Cf. Baez v. Banc One Leasing Corp. , 348 F.3d 972, 973 (11th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (“We review for abuse of discretion the district court’s decision to deny the motion for leave to file an amended complaint

. ”). “[B]efore the district court dismisses [an] action with prejudice ”

— and “where a more carefully drafted complaint might state a claim”

— it “ must ” afford “a pro se plaintiff .

. . at least one chance to amend the complaint.” Silberman v. Miami Dade Transit , 927 F.3d 1123, 1132 (11th Cir. 2019) (cleaned up) (emphasis added). And a court might face a similar obligation “where the dismissal iswithout prejudice, but the applicable statute of limitations probably bars further litigation

. ” See Boazman v. Econ. Lab’y, Inc. , 537 F.2d 210, 213 (5th Cir. 1976) (stating that when the statute of USCA11 Case: 21-10062 Date Filed: 02/28/2022 Page: 4 of 521

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limitation s is likely to preclud e further litigation, “the standard of review of the District Court’s [ nonprejudicial ] dismissal should be the same as is used when reviewing a dismissal with prejudice”)

. N either of those circumstances is present here. As stated above, the dismissal was without prejudice. And the applicable statute of limitations

— wh ich, for a § 1983 claim brought in Florida, is four years, Chappell v. Rich , 340 F.3d 1279, 1283 (11th Cir. 2003)

— does not “probably bar[] further litigation,” Boazman , 537 F.2d at 213. The e arliest possible date that Brown’s cause of action accrued is January 3, 2019

— the date his incarceration began. That gives him until at least January 3, 2023 to re

- file his complaint. Accordingly, the district court’s sua sponte dismissal

— which was withou t prejudice
, and which leaves Brown ample time

to re

- file his claim

— was not an abuse of discretion.
AFFIRMED. USCA11 Case: 21-10062 Date Filed: 02/28/2022 Page: 5 of 5