Court Opinion

ID: 9930920
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-07 21:01:14.358331+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:11:37.326671
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 23-6928      Doc: 12         Filed: 02/06/2024     Pg: 1 of 3

                                             UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                               No. 23-6928

        OSCAR PEREZ,

                             Plaintiff - Appellant,

                      v.

        TROY A. MORRISON, Sergeant, Alexander CI,

                             Defendant - Appellee.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at
        Statesville. Martin K. Reidinger, Chief District Judge. (5:21-cv-00097-MR)

        Submitted: January 30, 2024                                       Decided: February 6, 2024

        Before KING, AGEE, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

        Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        Oscar Perez, Appellant Pro Se.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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        PER CURIAM:

               Oscar Perez appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor

        of Appellee Troy Morrison on Perez’s amended 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint. Limiting our

        review to the issues raised in the informal brief, we have reviewed the record and find no

        reversible error. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b); Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 177 (4th Cir.

        2014) (“The informal brief is an important document; under Fourth Circuit rules, our

        review is limited to issues preserved in that brief.”).

               “We review de novo a district court’s award of summary judgment, viewing the

        facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” Chapman v. Oakland Living

        Ctr., Inc., 48 F.4th 222, 228 (4th Cir. 2022). “Summary judgment is properly awarded

        only if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the

        movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Gordon v. Schilling, 937 F.3d 348, 356

        (4th Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). “To state a colorable First Amendment

        retaliation claim, a plaintiff must allege that (1) he engaged in protected First Amendment

        activity, (2) the defendant[] took some action that adversely affected his First Amendment

        rights, and (3) there was a causal relationship between his protected activity and the

        defendant[’s] conduct.” Shaw v. Foreman, 59 F.4th 121, 130 (4th Cir. 2023) (internal

        quotation marks omitted).

               Our review of the record leads us to conclude Perez did not establish a genuine

        dispute of material fact as to the causation element of his claim. The undisputed evidence

        shows Morrison “would have taken the same action[s] in the absence of [Perez’s] protected

        activity” as part of an investigation that began before any of Perez’s protected activity

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        occurred. Id. at 130. Moreover, many of the adverse actions of which Perez complains

        were taken by or explicitly approved by officers who are not named defendants in this suit

        and were in line with undisputed prison policy applicable to inmates who are under

        investigation.

               Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. Perez v. Morrison, No. 5:21-

        cv-00097-MR (W.D.N.C. Sept. 6, 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.

                                                                                      AFFIRMED

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