Court Opinion

ID: 9896283
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-09 21:01:16.018974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:14:34.082058
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 23-1591    Doc: 14        Filed: 11/06/2023   Pg: 1 of 4

                                          UNPUBLISHED

                             UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                 FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                            No. 23-1205

        C. HOLMES, M.D. a/k/a C. Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Collie
        Holmes,

                          Plaintiff - Appellant,

                    v.

        ANNE MILGRAM, Administrator of DEA,

                          Defendant - Appellee.

                                            No. 23-1591

        C. HOLMES, M.D. a/k/a C Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Collie
        Holmes,

                          Plaintiff - Appellant,

                    v.

        ANNE MILGRAM, Administrator of DEA,

                          Defendant - Appellee.
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1591      Doc: 14         Filed: 11/06/2023    Pg: 2 of 4

                                              No. 23-1749

        C. HOLMES, a/k/a C. Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Holmes, a/k/a Cynthia Collie Holmes,
        M.D.
                          Plaintiff - Appellant,

                     v.

        ANNE MILGRAM, Administrator of DEA,

                            Defendant - Appellee.

        Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
        Charleston. Bruce H. Hendricks, District Judge; Molly Hughes Cherry, Magistrate Judge.
        (2:22-cv-03758-BHH-MHC)

        Submitted: October 20, 2023                                  Decided: November 6, 2023

        Before GREGORY and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Nos. 23-1205 and 23-1749, dismissed; No. 23-1591, dismissed in part and affirmed in part
        by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        C. Holmes, Appellant Pro Se.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

                                                    2
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1591      Doc: 14         Filed: 11/06/2023        Pg: 3 of 4

        PER CURIAM:

               In Appeal No. 23-1205, C. Holmes seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying

        her motion to appeal the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and for a stay

        pending appeal. In Appeal No. 23-1591, Holmes seeks to appeal (1) the district court’s

        order adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendation and denying her motion for a

        temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, and (2) the magistrate judge’s

        order providing Holmes with the notice required by Roseboro v. Garrison, 528 F.2d 309

        (4th Cir. 1975). ∗ We dismiss in part and affirm in part.

               This court may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and

        certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1292; Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b);

        Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-46 (1949). The district court’s

        order denying leave to appeal and denying a stay pending appeal is neither a final order nor

        an appealable interlocutory or collateral order.        Accordingly, we dismiss Appeal

        No. 23-1205 for lack of jurisdiction. The magistrate judge’s Roseboro notice order is also

        not a final order or an appealable interlocutory or collateral order. We therefore dismiss

        for lack of jurisdiction the portion of Appeal No. 23-1591 that seeks to challenge the

        Roseboro order.

               ∗
                 Holmes’ appeal from this order was inadvertently docketed as a separate appeal,
        No. 23-1749. However, our review of the record shows that Holmes intended to amend
        her notice of appeal filed in No. 23-1591 to include her challenge to the Roseboro order.
        We therefore dismiss Appeal No. 23-1749 and consider Holmes’ challenge to the Roseboro
        order as part of Appeal No. 23-1591. We deny as moot Holmes’ motion to consolidate the
        filing fee for these appeals.

                                                     3
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1591         Doc: 14      Filed: 11/06/2023     Pg: 4 of 4

               Holmes also contests the district court’s order accepting the recommendation of the

        magistrate judge and denying her motion for a temporary restraining order and a

        preliminary injunction. Absent exceptional circumstances, the denial of a motion for a

        temporary restraining order is considered interlocutory and is not appealable. Office of

        Personnel Mgmt. v. Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Emps., 473 U.S. 1301, 1303-04 (1985).

        Exceptional circumstances exist where the denial effectively decides the merits of the case.

        See Virginia v. Tenneco, Inc., 538 F.2d 1026, 1029-30 (4th Cir. 1976). Upon review of the

        record, we conclude that no such exceptional circumstances are present in this case.

        Therefore, we dismiss for lack of jurisdiction the portion of Appeal No. 23-1591 in which

        Holmes contests the denial of her motion for a temporary restraining order.

               An order denying a preliminary injunction, however, is an immediately appealable

        interlocutory order. See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). We have reviewed the record and

        conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Holmes’ motion for

        a preliminary injunction. See Grimmett v. Freeman, 59 F.4th 689, 692 (4th Cir. 2023)

        (providing standard). Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order denying Holmes’

        motion for a preliminary injunction. Holmes v. Milgram, No. 2:22-cv-03758-BHH-MHC

        (D.S.C. May 22, 2023).

               We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

        adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the

        decisional process.

                                                           Nos. 23-1205 & 23-1749, DISMISSED;
                                                             No. 23-1591, DISMISSED IN PART,
                                                                           AFFIRMED IN PART

                                                     4