Court Opinion

ID: 9963545
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-25 18:00:47.296236+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:24:52.416052
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10880           Document: 46-1         Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/25/2024

          United States Court of Appeals
               for the Fifth Circuit
                                  ____________
                                                                            United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                     Fifth Circuit
                                   No. 23-10880
                                 Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                 ____________                                  April 25, 2024
                                                                              Lyle W. Cayce
Willie Lee HavMmeri,                                                               Clerk

                                                                 Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                         versus

Methodist Health Systems, Dallas,

                                            Defendant—Appellee.
                  ______________________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                      for the Northern District of Texas
                            USDC No. 3:22-CV-594
                  ______________________________

Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
      Willie Lee HavMmeri filed a pro se complaint arising from the
termination of his employment. He now appeals the district court’s dismissal
of his complaint with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
12(b)(6). HavMmeri argues that the district court erred in dismissing his
claim under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) based

      _____________________
      *
          This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-10880        Document: 46-1       Page: 2     Date Filed: 04/25/2024

                                  No. 23-10880

on his failure to timely exhaust his administrative remedies within 180 days
after he was terminated.       Liberally construed, his brief contends that
equitable tolling of the deadline was warranted or, alternatively, that his delay
in filing his administrative complaint should be excused under Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 6(a)(3).
       We review de novo a dismissal for failure to state a claim pursuant to
Rule 12(b)(6). Morin v. Caire, 77 F.3d 116, 120 (5th Cir. 1996). However, we
review a decision whether to apply equitable tolling for an abuse of discretion
where, as here, the decision “was a fact-specific, discretionary matter.”
Granger v. Aaron’s, Inc., 636 F.3d 708, 712 (5th Cir. 2011).
       Equitable tolling should be “applied sparingly,” and it is the plaintiff’s
“burden to provide justification for equitable tolling.” Id. (internal quotation
marks and citation omitted). HavMmeri acknowledges that he did not fax his
administrative complaint until the day after the filing deadline and that he
waited until the deadline to obtain the fax number for the relevant
administrative agency. Although he mentions that, during the filing period,
government buildings were closed to the public because of the COVID-19
pandemic, he does not explain how this prevented him from requesting the
fax number earlier or timely submitting his administrative complaint. Under
these circumstances, he has failed to show the court abused its discretion in
finding that equitable tolling was not justified. See id. We also reject
HavMmeri’s contention that the late filing of his administrative complaint
should be excused under Rule 6(a)(3), as that rule does not apply to filings
with administrative agencies. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(3).
       HavMmeri has abandoned all other issues on appeal by failing to brief
them. See Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 224-25 (5th Cir. 1993). The district
court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

                                       2