Court Opinion

ID: 9893130
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-25 21:01:02.871282+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:52:53.819280
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 23-1109     Doc: 50        Filed: 10/24/2023   Pg: 1 of 7

                                           UNPUBLISHED

                              UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                  FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                             No. 23-1106

        MELANIE MATHEWSON, Administrator for the Estate of Justin Smith,

                           Plaintiff - Appellant,

                     v.

        GOVERNOR ROY ASBERRY COOPER, III, in his individual capacity; REGINA
        FEREBEE, in her individual capacity; ERIC A. HOOKS, in his individual capacity;
        KENNETH LASSITER, in his individual capacity; GARY JUNKER, in his
        individual capacity; FRANK L. PERRY, in his individual capacity; ROBERT
        KALDAHL, in his individual capacity; FELIX TAYLOR, in his individual
        capacity; COLBERT RESPASS, in his individual capacity; MIKEL E. BRADY, II,
        in his individual capacity; WISEZAH D. BUCKMAN, in his individual capacity;
        JONATHAN M. MONK, in his individual capacity; SETH J. FRAZIER, in his
        individual capacity; ANNIE HARVEY, in her individual capacity; JOSEPH
        HARRELL, in his individual capacity; MARQUIS BETZ, in his individual
        capacity; KAREN BROWN, in her individual capacity; ROBERT LEON, in his
        individual capacity; JEFFREY BAKER, in his individual capacity; LORIS
        SUTTON, in her individual capacity; VIVIAN JOHNSON, in her individual
        capacity; THOMAS ASHLEY, in his individual capacity; STEVEN GARDNER, in
        his individual capacity; CARLTON RICHARDSON, in his individual capacity;
        LEON WILLIAMS, in his individual capacity; STEPHANIE FREEMAN, in her
        individual capacity; KAREN STEINOUR, in her individual capacity; JOE
        PRATER, in his individual capacity; TIM MOOSE, in his individual capacity; BILL
        STOVAL, in his individual capacity; JERRY CARROLL, in his individual
        capacity,

                           Defendants - Appellees.

                                             No. 23-1109
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        ERIC DARDEN, Administrator for the Estate of Veronica Darden,

                           Plaintiff - Appellant,

                     v.

        GOVERNOR ROY ASBERRY COOPER, III, in his individual capacity; REGINA
        FEREBEE, in her individual capacity; ERIC A. HOOKS, in his individual capacity;
        KENNETH LASSITER, in his individual capacity; GARY JUNKER, in his
        individual capacity; FRANK L. PERRY, in his individual capacity; ROBERT
        KALDAHL, in his individual capacity; FELIX TAYLOR, in his individual
        capacity; COLBERT RESPASS, in his individual capacity; MIKEL E. BRADY, II,
        in his individual capacity; WISEZAH D. BUCKMAN, in his individual capacity;
        JONATHAN M. MONK, in his individual capacity; SETH J. FRAZIER, in his
        individual capacity; ANNIE HARVEY, in her individual capacity; JOSEPH
        HARRELL, in his individual capacity; MARQUIS BETZ, in his individual
        capacity; KAREN BROWN, in her individual capacity; ROBERT LEON, in his
        individual capacity; JEFFREY BAKER, in his individual capacity; LORIS
        SUTTON, in her individual capacity; VIVIAN JOHNSON, in her individual
        capacity; THOMAS ASHLEY, in his individual capacity; STEVEN GARDNER, in
        his individual capacity; CARLTON RICHARDSON, in his individual capacity;
        LEON WILLIAMS, in his individual capacity; STEPHANIE FREEMAN, in her
        individual capacity; KAREN STEINOUR, in her individual capacity; JOE
        PRATER, in his individual capacity; TIM MOOSE, in his individual capacity; BILL
        STOVAL, in his individual capacity; JERRY CARROLL, in his individual
        capacity,

                           Defendants - Appellees.

                                             No. 23-1113

        CURTIS R. CASPER; DANIELLE H. CASPER; D.R.C. I; D.R.C. II,

                           Plaintiffs - Appellants,

                     v.

        GOVERNOR ROY ASBERRY COOPER, III, in his individual capacity; REGINA
        FEREBEE, in her individual capacity; ERIC A. HOOKS, in his individual capacity;
        KENNETH LASSITER, in his individual capacity; GARY JUNKER, in his
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1109     Doc: 50        Filed: 10/24/2023   Pg: 3 of 7

        individual capacity; FRANK L. PERRY, in his individual capacity; ROBERT
        KALDAHL, in his individual capacity; FELIX TAYLOR, in his individual
        capacity; COLBERT RESPASS, in his individual capacity; MIKEL E. BRADY, II,
        in his individual capacity; WISEZAH D. BUCKMAN, in his individual capacity;
        JONATHAN M. MONK, in his individual capacity; SETH J. FRAZIER, in his
        individual capacity; ANNIE HARVEY, in her individual capacity; JOSEPH
        HARRELL, in his individual capacity; MARQUIS BETZ, in his individual
        capacity; KAREN BROWN, in her individual capacity; ROBERT LEON, in his
        individual capacity; JEFFREY BAKER, in his individual capacity; LORIS
        SUTTON, in her individual capacity; VIVIAN JOHNSON, in her individual
        capacity; THOMAS ASHLEY, in his individual capacity; STEVEN GARDNER, in
        his individual capacity; CARLTON RICHARDSON, in his individual capacity;
        LEON WILLIAMS, in his individual capacity; STEPHANIE FREEMAN, in her
        individual capacity; KAREN STEINOUR, in her individual capacity; JOE
        PRATER, in his individual capacity; TIM MOOSE, in his individual capacity; BILL
        STOVAL, in his individual capacity; JERRY CARROLL, in his individual
        capacity,

                           Defendants - Appellees.

                                             No. 23-1116

        ROSA SHANNON; TAMMY SHANNON; ARNETTA SHEARD,

                           Plaintiffs - Appellants,

                     v.

        GOVERNOR ROY ASBERRY COOPER, III, in his individual capacity; REGINA
        FEREBEE, of Corrections Enterprise; ERIC A. HOOKS, in his individual capacity;
        KENNETH LASSITER, in his individual capacity; GARY JUNKER, in his
        individual capacity; FRANK L. PERRY, in his individual capacity; ROBERT
        KALDAHL, of Corrections Enterprise; FELIX TAYLOR, in his individual
        capacity; COLBERT RESPASS, in his individual capacity; MIKEL E. BRADY, II,
        of Corrections Enterprise; WISEZAH D. BUCKMAN, of Corrections Enterprise;
        JONATHAN M. MONK, of Corrections Enterprise; SETH J. FRAZIER, of
        Corrections Enterprise; ANNIE HARVEY, in her individual capacity; JOSEPH
        HARRELL, in his individual capacity; MARQUIS BETZ, in his individual
        capacity; KAREN BROWN, of Corrections Enterprise; ROBERT LEON, of
        Corrections Enterprise; JEFFREY BAKER, in his individual capacity; LORIS
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        SUTTON, in her individual capacity; VIVIAN JOHNSON, in her individual
        capacity; THOMAS ASHLEY, in his individual capacity; STEVEN GARDNER, in
        his individual capacity; CARLTON RICHARDSON, of Corrections Enterprise;
        LEON WILLIAMS, in his individual capacity; STEPHANIE FREEMAN, in her
        individual capacity; KAREN STEINOUR, in her individual capacity; JOE
        PRATER, in his individual capacity; TIM MOOSE, in his individual capacity; BILL
        STOVAL, in his individual capacity; JERRY CARROLL, in his individual
        capacity,

                           Defendants - Appellees.

                                             No. 23-1117

        GEORGE W. MIDGETT; SUSIE E. MIDGETT,

                           Plaintiffs - Appellants,

                     v.

        GOVERNOR ROY ASBERRY COOPER, III, in his individual capacity; REGINA
        FEREBEE, of Corrections Enterprise; ERIC A. HOOKS, in his individual capacity;
        KENNETH LASSITER, in his individual capacity; GARY JUNKER, in his
        individual capacity; FRANK L. PERRY, in his individual capacity; ROBERT
        KALDAHL, of Corrections Enterprise; FELIX TAYLOR, in his individual
        capacity; COLBERT RESPASS, in his individual capacity; MIKEL E. BRADY, II,
        of Corrections Enterprise; WISEZAH D. BUCKMAN, of Corrections Enterprise;
        JONATHAN M. MONK, of Corrections Enterprise; SETH J. FRAZIER, of
        Corrections Enterprise; ANNIE HARVEY, in her individual capacity; JOSEPH
        HARRELL, in his individual capacity; MARQUIS BETZ, in his individual
        capacity; KAREN BROWN, of Corrections Enterprise; ROBERT LEON, of
        Corrections Enterprise; JEFFREY BAKER, in his individual capacity; LORIS
        SUTTON, in her individual capacity; VIVIAN JOHNSON, in her individual
        capacity; THOMAS ASHLEY, in his individual capacity; STEVEN GARDNER, in
        his individual capacity; CARLTON RICHARDSON, of Corrections Enterprise;
        LEON WILLIAMS, in his individual capacity; STEPHANIE FREEMAN, in her
        individual capacity; KAREN STEINOUR, in her individual capacity; JOE
        PRATER, in his individual capacity; TIM MOOSE, in his individual capacity; BILL
        STOVAL, in his individual capacity; JERRY CARROLL, in his individual
        capacity,
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1109      Doc: 50         Filed: 10/24/2023     Pg: 5 of 7

                             Defendants - Appellees.

        Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at
        Greensboro. Thomas D. Schroeder, District Judge. (1:20-cv-00944-TDS-LPA; 1:20-cv-
        00947-TDS-LPA; 1:20-cv-00942-TDS-LPA; 1:20-cv-00953-TDS-LPA; 1:20-cv-00941-
        TDS-LPA)

        Submitted: September 11, 2023                                 Decided: October 24, 2023

        Before GREGORY and RUSHING, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        Latrisha Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, CCL LAW OFFICE, Elizabeth City, North Carolina;
        Morris Fonville McAdoo, MCADOO LORICK, PLLC, Charlotte, North Carolina, for
        Appellants. Tamika Lynn Henderson, Assistant Attorney General, Stephanie A. Brennan,
        NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
        Appellees.

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

               In these consolidated appeals, Melanie Mathewson, Administrator of the Estate of

        Justin Smith, Eric Darden, Administrator of the Estate of Veronica Darden, Curtis R.

        Casper, Danielle H. Casper, D.R.C. I, D.R.C. II, Rosa Shannon, Tammy Shannon, Arnetta

        Sheard, George W. Midgett, and Susie E. Midgett (“Appellants”) seek to appeal the final

        judgment entered by the district court in their 42 U.S.C. § 1983 actions. The district court

        denied relief on Appellants’ claims against state and prison officials (“State Appellees”)

        and several inmates (“Inmate Appellees”) that arose from an unsuccessful escape attempt,

        during which deaths and injuries occurred. State Appellees have filed a consolidated

        motion to dismiss the appeals as untimely. We grant the motion to dismiss and dismiss the

        appeals in their entirety for lack of jurisdiction because the notices of appeal were not

        timely filed.

               In civil cases, parties have 30 days after the entry of the district court’s final

        judgment or order to note an appeal, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), unless the district court

        extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5) or reopens the appeal period under

        Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). “[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a

        jurisdictional requirement,” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007), when the time

        period is prescribed by statute, id. at 210-13; see Hamer v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of

        Chi., 583 U.S. 17, 19 (2017) (stating that “a provision governing the time to appeal in a

        civil action qualifies as jurisdictional only if Congress sets the time”).

               The district court entered its final judgment on December 21, 2022. Appellants filed

        the notices of appeal on January 23, 2023, beyond the expiration of the 30-day appeal
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        period. Appellants contend in their response to State Appellees’ motion to dismiss that the

        time limits in Rule 4(a) are not jurisdictional. However, except when a district court

        extends the time to note an appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a)(5)(C), the time limits in Rule 4(a)

        are jurisdictional because they are grounded in 28 U.S.C. § 2107(c), a statute in which

        Congress established the relevant time limits. See Bowles, 551 U.S. at 211-12 (noting “the

        jurisdictional distinction between court-promulgated rules and limits enacted by

        Congress”); Hamer, 538 U.S. at 19 (holding nonjurisdictional Rule 4(a)(5)(C)’s limit on

        length of extension of time to file notice of appeal because limit does not appear in

        § 2701(c)); Parrish v. United States, 74 F.4th 160, 162 (4th Cir. 2023) (explaining that “the

        times specified by statute for filing appeals in civil actions are jurisdictional”). Because

        Appellants failed to file timely notices of appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of

        the appeal period, we grant the motion to dismiss and dismiss the appeals in their entirety. *

               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.

                                                                                        DISMISSED

               *
                Appellant Midgett filed a motion to extend the appeal period, which the district
        court denied. Midgett did not appeal that order. No other Appellant filed a motion for an
        extension of time to appeal.