Court Opinion

ID: 9891585
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-19 00:00:30.457233+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:54:17.411770
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-20154         Document: 00516935989             Page: 1      Date Filed: 10/18/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit

                                             FILED
                                      ____________
                                                                                October 18, 2023
                                       No. 23-20154                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                     Summary Calendar                                  Clerk
                                     ____________

   Rainer von Falkenhorst, III,

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   Charles Clinton Hunter; Scott G. Hamilton,

                                                Defendant—Appellee.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Southern District of Texas
                                USDC No. 4:22-CV-1171
                      ______________________________

   Before Jones, Smith, and Dennis, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Plaintiff-Appellant Rainer von Falkenhorst, III, proceeding pro se,
   appeals the district court’s dismissal of his suit against Defendant-Appellees

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-20154        Document: 00516935989             Page: 2      Date Filed: 10/18/2023

                                        No. 23-20154

   Charles Clinton Hunter and Scott G. Hamilton under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for
   violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. 1
           We review de novo a district court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss for
   failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), and
   we must determine whether the pleaded facts state plausible claims that are
   cognizable in law. NiGen Biotech, L.L.C. v. Paxton, 804 F.3d 389, 393 (5th
   Cir. 2015) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). While
   “pro se complaints are held to less stringent standards” than those drafted
   by a lawyer, “conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as
   factual conclusions will not suffice to prevent a motion to dismiss.” Taylor v.
   Books A Million, Inc., 296 F.3d 376, 378 (5th Cir. 2002) (first quoting Miller
   v. Stanmore, 636 F.2d 986, 988 (5th Cir. 1981); and then quoting S. Christian
   Leadership Conf. v. Sup. Ct. of the State of La., 252 F.3d 781, 786 (5th Cir.
   2001)).
           Here, von Falkenhorst’s complaint provides only legal conclusions
   that, during Texas state court proceedings, Defendants deprived him of due
   process, deprived him of equal protection of the law, conspired to defraud
   him, and violated his right to seek redress of grievances. The complaint
   provides no factual allegations to support his claims, and the mere legal
   conclusions he provided are insufficient to state a claim. See Twombly, 550
   U.S. at 555.
           The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The motion to
   appoint counsel filed by von Falkenhorst is DENIED.

           _____________________
           1
           Another panel of this court previously dismissed von Falkenhorst’s appeal against
   the other Defendant-Appellees, Cory Don Sepolio, Gerald B. Sager, and Robert C.
   McCabe.

                                              2