Court Opinion

ID: 9405153
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-27 17:01:08.03906+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:19.947261
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 21-13869    Document: 59-1      Date Filed: 06/27/2023   Page: 1 of 22

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                    In the
                 United States Court of Appeals
                         For the Eleventh Circuit

                           ____________________

                                 No. 21-13869
                           Non-Argument Calendar
                           ____________________

        PLEADRO J. SCOTT,
                                                       Plaintiﬀ-Appellant,
        versus
        MIAMI DADE COUNTY,
        R. GOMEZ, et al,

                                                   Defendants-Appellees.
                           ____________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                      for the Southern District of Florida
                     D.C. Docket No. 1:13-cv-23013-DPG
                           ____________________
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        2                      Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

        Before LAGOA, BRASHER, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
        PER CURIAM:
                Pleadro Scott, proceeding pro se on appeal, appeals a jury
        verdict in favor of the appellees in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights
        action. On appeal, Scott argues that: (1) the district court abused
        its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial because the evi-
        dence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict; (2) defense
        counsel made improper comments during voir dire; (3) the district
        court abused its discretion on certain evidentiary rulings; (4) the
        jury instructions failed to adequately and fairly present the legal is-
        sues to the jury; (5) the district court erred in dismissing Sergeant
        Harold Jefferson as a defendant; (6) the district court erred in dis-
        missing Officer Jane Doe as a defendant; (7) the district court erred
        in dismissing Miami-Dade County as a defendant; and (8) the dis-
        trict court erred in granting Lieutenant Constantina Weston’s and
                                                        1
        Corporal Rolando Gomez’s motion for costs.
               We will address each point in turn. We write only for the
        parties, so we assume their familiarity with the relevant facts.
                                          I.

             1 Scott’s motion to compel the creation of the record on appeal is
        DENIED AS MOOT.
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                         3

               “We review a ruling on a motion for a new trial for abuse of
        discretion.”     McGinnis v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc.,
        817 F.3d 1241, 1255 (11th Cir. 2016) (citation omitted). “Deference
        to the district court is particularly appropriate where a new trial is
        denied and the jury’s verdict is left undisturbed.” Id. (citation and
        internal quotations omitted).
                A party may move for a new trial under Federal Rule
        of Civil Procedure 59 on the grounds that the verdict was against
        the weight of the evidence, the damages were excessive, or the trial
        was otherwise unfair. Id. at 1254. The court is then free to weigh
        the evidence and may, in its discretion, grant a new trial if it be-
        lieves that the verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence.
        Id. However, “[b]ecause it is critical that a judge does not merely
        substitute his judgment for that of the jury, new trials should not
        be granted on evidentiary grounds unless, at a minimum, the ver-
        dict is against the great—not merely the greater—weight of the ev-
        idence.” Lipphardt v. Durango Steakhouse of Brandon, Inc.,
        267 F.3d 1183, 1186 (11th Cir. 2001) (citation and internal quota-
        tions omitted).
               Notably, it is the jury’s role to weigh conflicting evidence
        and determine the credibility of witnesses. McGinnis, 817 F.3d
        at 1254. As such, we afford substantial deference to the fact finder’s
        explicit and implicit credibility determinations. See CBS Broad., Inc.
        v. Echostar Commc’ns Corp., 450 F.3d 505, 517 n.23 (11th Cir. 2006)
        (“Appellate courts reviewing a cold record give particular defer-
        ence to credibility determinations of a fact-finder who had the
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        4                       Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

        opportunity to see live testimony.” (citation and alteration omit-
        ted)); see also United States v. Lewis, 674 F.3d 1298, 1303 (11th Cir.
        2012) (“[W]e afford substantial deference to the factfinder’s credi-
        bility determinations, both explicit and implicit.” (emphasis
        added)).
                A plaintiff is entitled to redress under § 1983 if a person act-
        ing under color of state law deprived the plaintiff of any right, priv-
        ilege, or immunity that the Constitution or laws of the United
        States protects. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. “The Eighth Amendment pro-
        hibits the federal government, and state governments through the
        Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, from inflicting
        cruel and unusual punishments.” Cox v. Nobles, 15 F.4th 1350, 1357
        (11th Cir. 2021), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 1178 (2022) (citation and in-
        ternal quotations omitted). “The prohibition on cruel and unusual
        punishments requires prison officials to take reasonable measures
        to guarantee the safety of the inmates.” Id. (citation and internal
        quotations omitted). “When a plaintiff invokes this principle in a
        lawsuit against prison officials, we often refer to the plaintiff’s
        claims as ‘failure-to-protect’ claims.” Id.
                To succeed on a failure-to-protect claim, a plaintiff must sat-
        isfy the following three elements: (1) he “was incarcerated under
        conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm”; (2) “the prison
        official had a sufficiently culpable state of mind, amounting to de-
        liberate indifference”; and (3) the constitutional violation caused
        his injuries. Id. at 1357-58 (brackets and internal quotations omit-
        ted). We use an objective standard to examine the first element—
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                          5

        a substantial risk of harm—and the plaintiff must “show conditions
        that were extreme and posed an unreasonable risk of serious injury
        to his future health or safety.” Marbury v. Warden, 936 F.3d 1227,
        1233 (11th Cir. 2019) (internal quotations omitted). “The second
        element—whether the defendant was deliberately indifferent to
        that risk—has both a subjective and an objective component.” Id.
               Subjectively, the official must both be aware of facts
               from which the inference could be drawn that a sub-
               stantial risk of serious harm exists, and also draw the
               inference. Objectively, the official must have re-
               sponded to the known risk in an unreasonable man-
               ner, in that he or she knew of ways to reduce the
               harm but knowingly or recklessly declined to act.
        Id. (internal quotations and ellipsis omitted). “Finally, the plaintiff
        must show a ‘necessary causal link’ between the officer’s failure to
        act reasonably and the plaintiff’s injury.” Id.
                  We have recognized that an excessive risk of inmate-on-in-
        mate violence can constitute a substantial risk of serious harm, but
        a plaintiff must show more than an occasional or isolated attack.
        Purcell ex rel. Est. of Morgan v. Toombs Cty., Ga., 400 F.3d 1313, 1320
        (11th Cir. 2005); accord Caldwell v. Warden, FCI Talladega,
        748 F.3d 1090, 1101 (11th Cir. 2014) (“We stress that [a] plain-
        tiff . . . must show more than ‘a generalized awareness of risk’”). In
        fact, “the plaintiff must show that serious inmate-on-inmate vio-
        lence was the norm or something close to it.” Marbury, 936 F.3d
        at 1234 (internal quotations omitted). Sworn allegations of a
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        6                       Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

        generalized risk, by themselves, do “not support the conclusion
        that serious inmate-on-inmate violence was so pervasive that it
        constitutes a substantial risk of serious harm to which defendants
        were deliberately indifferent.” Id.
                Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense that shields
        government officials from civil liability in their individual capacities
        when the government official acted within the scope of his discre-
        tionary authority and the official’s conduct did not violate clearly
        established statutory or constitutional rights. Kesinger v. Herrington,
        381 F.3d 1243, 1247-48 (11th. Cir. 2004). Once the government of-
        ficial shows that he acted within the scope of his discretionary au-
        thority, the plaintiff must attempt to overcome the qualified im-
        munity defense by showing that: (1) the defendant violated a con-
        stitutional right, and (2) the violation of the right was clearly estab-
        lished. Id. at 1248.
               Here, the jury’s verdict was not against the great weight of
        the evidence. The jury could have credited the Defendants’ testi-
        mony that Scott did not communicate a threat that would have put
        them on notice of more than a generalized risk of harm, which was
        a determination well within the jury’s purview. Even assuming,
        arguendo, that the jury believed that Scott had communicated that
        he was receiving threats from gangs, the jury could have concluded
        that Scott did not communicate more than a generalized risk,
        which, contrary to Scott’s argument, is insufficient to show a sub-
        stantial risk of serious harm to which the Defendants were
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                          7

        deliberately indifferent. Therefore, the district court did not abuse
        its discretion in denying Scott’s motion for a new trial.

                                          II.
                In the criminal context, we review decisions regarding voir
        dire for an abuse of discretion and will “reverse only if the question-
        ing as a whole did not comply with the essential demands of fair-
        ness and did not give reasonable assurance to parties that any prej-
        udice of potential jurors would be discovered.” United States v. Dan-
        iels, 986 F.2d 451, 454 (11th Cir. 1993) (citation and internal quota-
        tions omitted). “When no objections are raised to the allegedly
        improper comments, however, we review for plain error, but a
        finding of plain error is seldom justified in reviewing argument of
        counsel in a civil case.” Ruiz v. Wing, 991 F.3d 1130, 1141 (11th Cir.
        2021) (citations and internal quotations omitted). “[P]lain error re-
        quires a showing that (1) an error occurred; (2) the error was plain;
        (3) it affected substantial rights; and (4) not correcting the error
        would seriously affect the fairness of the judicial proceeding.” Id.
        (internal quotations omitted).
                “The purpose of a voir dire is to ascertain whether a poten-
        tial juror can render a verdict solely on the basis of the evidence
        presented and the charge of the trial court.” Wilcox v. Ford,
        813 F.2d 1140, 1150 (11th Cir. 1987). Notably, “a trial judge is ac-
        corded wide discretion in ascertaining what questions can and can-
        not be asked on voir dire.” Id.
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        8                      Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

                Here, defense counsel’s comments during voir dire were not
        improper because they were to ascertain whether the potential ju-
        rors could render a verdict on Scott’s failure-to-protect claim. To
        succeed on his failure to protect claim, Scott was required show
        that each individual defendant had a sufficiently culpable state of
        mind. See Cox, 15 F.4th at 1358. Thus, defense counsel’s question-
        ing was to determine whether the potential jurors could render a
        verdict on Scott’s failure to protect claim by ensuring that they
        would not erroneously find the Defendants liable for another indi-
        vidual’s conduct, and the district court had wide discretion to allow
        it. See Wilcox, 813 F.2d at 1150. Further, this Court has indicated,
        in the habeas context, that eliciting a promise from potential jurors
        is not improper. See Horton v. Zant, 941 F.2d 1449, 1465 66 (11th
        Cir. 1991) (“To the extent that [t]he [petitioner] is alleging that the
        jury gave the victim’s occupation undue weight, this problem was
        mitigated by an extensive voir dire in which [he] elicited a promise
        from each juror not to consider the victim’s occupation and by [his]
        closing argument in which he reminded the jurors of their prom-
        ises.”). Consequently, the district court was not required to give a
        curative instruction.
                                         III.
               We review a district court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse
        of discretion. Proctor v. Fluor Enters., Inc., 494 F.3d 1337, 1349 n.7
        (11th Cir. 2007). “To gain a reversal based on a district court’s evi-
        dentiary ruling, a party must establish that (1) its claim was ade-
        quately preserved; (2) the district court abused its discretion in in-
        terpreting or applying an evidentiary rule; and (3) this error
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                          9

        affected ‘a substantial right.’” Id. at 1349 (internal quotations omit-
        ted). “In applying this standard, we will affirm a district court’s ev-
        identiary ruling unless the district court has made a clear error of
        judgment or has applied an incorrect legal standard” Conroy v.
        Abraham Chevrolet-Tampa, Inc., 375 F.3d 1228, 1232 (11th Cir. 2004)
        (internal quotations omitted).
                “A party introducing evidence generally cannot complain on
        appeal that the evidence was erroneously admitted.” Ruiz,
        991 F.3d at 1140 (citation and internal quotations omitted) (con-
        cluding that the plaintiff “waived his objection to the admissibility
        of [a] . . . [v]ideo by preemptively agreeing to play the video at the
        outset of the trial as a joint exhibit and referring to the video
        throughout trial”). Additionally, arguments raised for the first time
        on appeal that were not presented in the district court are deemed
        waived. Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324,
        1330-31 (11th Cir. 2004). Similarly, “an appellant[] simply stating
        that an issue exists, without further argument or discussion, consti-
        tutes abandonment of that issue and precludes our considering the
        issue on appeal.” Singh v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 561 F.3d 1275, 1278 (11th
        Cir. 2009).
               To properly authenticate a piece of evidence, “the propo-
        nent must produce evidence sufficient to support a finding that the
        item is what the proponent claims it is.” Fed. R. Evid. 901(a). For
        example, testimony from a witness with knowledge that an item is
        what it is claimed to be satisfies this requirement.
        Fed. R. Evid. 901(b)(1). Further, evidence may be authenticated by
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        10                      Opinion of the Court                    21-13869

        its “appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other dis-
        tinctive characteristics . . . taken together with all the circum-
        stances.” Fed. R. Evid. 901(b)(4).
                Under Fed. R. Evid. 1002, “[a]n original writing, recording,
        or photograph is required in order to prove its content unless the[]
        [Federal] [R]ules [of Evidence] or a federal statute provides other-
        wise.” Fed. R. Evid. 1002. We have noted that Rule 1002 essen-
        tially restates “the so-called ‘best evidence’ rule.” Allstate Ins. Co. v.
        Swann, 27 F.3d 1539, 1543 (11th Cir. 1994). Notably, “Rule 1002
        requires production of an original document only when the propo-
        nent of the evidence seeks to prove the content of the writing.” Id.
        “It does not, however, require production of a document simply
        because the document contains facts that are also testified to by a
        witness.” Id. (internal quotations omitted).
              Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered into evidence
        “to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.”
        Fed. R. Evid. 801(c).  Generally, hearsay is not admissible.
        Fed. R. Evid. 802. However, the Federal Rules of Evidence also
        contain several exceptions to the hearsay rule.              See
        Fed. R. Evid. 803-804.
               As relevant here, public records are not subject to the rule
        against hearsay. Fed. R. Evid. 803(8). A document falls under the
        “public records” exception to the rule against hearsay if it is “[a]
        record or statement of a public office,” which includes records that
        set out “the office’s activities” or “a matter observed while under a
        legal duty to report, but not including, in a criminal case, a matter
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        21-13869                Opinion of the Court                           11

        observed           by           law-enforcement            personnel.”
        Fed. R. Evid. 803(8)(A)(i)-(ii). However, “[h]earsay within hearsay
        subject to an exception is not admissible.” United Techs. Corp. v.
        Mazer, 556 F.3d 1260, 1278 (11th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted).
        Thus, “[i]t is well established that entries in a police report which
        result from the officer’s own observations and knowledge may be
        admitted but that statements made by third persons under no busi-
        ness duty to report may not.” Id. (citation omitted). “In other
        words, placing otherwise inadmissible hearsay statements by
        third-parties into a government report does not make the state-
        ments admissible.” Id. (brackets and internal quotations omitted).
        Rather, for hearsay within hearsay to be admissible, “each part of
        the combined statements [must] conform[] with an exception to
        the [hearsay] rule.” Fed. R. Evid. 805.
              Additionally, if the declarant is unavailable, the rule against
        hearsay does not exclude a statement against interest, which is a
        statement, in relevant part, that:
               a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would
               have made only if the person believed it to be true
               because, when made, it was so contrary to the declar-
               ant’s proprietary or pecuniary interest or had so great
               a tendency to invalidate the declarant’s claim against
               someone else or to expose the declarant to civil or
               criminal liability[.]
        Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(3).     Notably, “the statements at issue
        must . . . be against the interest of the declarant . . . in order to fall
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        12                      Opinion of the Court                   21-13869

        within the exception’s terms.”            Goodman v. Kimbrough,
        718 F.3d 1325, 1333 n.2 (11th Cir. 2013) (emphasis in original).
                Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion in its evi-
        dentiary rulings. First, Scott waived his challenges to the admissi-
        bility of the safety cell profile sheet by preemptively agreeing to
        present it at trial as a joint exhibit. Similarly, he did not raise his
        Rule 1002 argument before the district court and, as such, he has
        waived that argument. See Access Now, 385 F.3d at 1330 31. Second,
        the district court properly excluded Scott’s May 20, 2013, grievance
        because it contained double hearsay: Sergeant Johnson’s statement
        regarding Scott’s keep separate status, which Lieutenant Gayle in-
        cluded in the grievance. Thus, even if the grievance were generally
        admissible as a public record, Sergeant Johnson’s statement was in-
        admissible unless it also fell under an exception to the hearsay rule.
        See United Techs. Corp., 556 F.3d at 1278; Fed. R. Evid. 803(8), 805.
        Although Scott argues that the entire grievance was admissible as
        a public record, placing Sergeant Johnson’s inadmissible hearsay
        statement into the report does not make the statement admissible,
        and Scott does not explain how Sergeant Johnson’s statements
        were excluded from the rule against hearsay. Id. Third, Scott does
        not discuss or identify any of the discovery responses that were al-
        legedly erroneously excluded, and, therefore, he has abandoned
        the issue. Fourth, the district court properly excluded Officer Jane
        Doe’s statements because they were hearsay. Although Scott ar-
        gues that Officer Jane Doe’s statements fell under the hearsay ex-
        ception for statements against interest, her statements would not
        expose her to civil, much less criminal, liability. See Fed. R. Evid.
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        21-13869                Opinion of the Court                         13

        804(b)(3). Rather, Officer Jane Doe’s alleged statement—that the
        jail card did not contain a keep separate notation—was, at most,
        against the Defendants’ interests, not her own. See Goodman, 718
        F.3d at 1333 n.2. Specifically, Officer Jane Doe’s statements could
        have exposed the Defendants to civil liability by showing that they
        failed to act in response to Scott’s fears of being attacked, and,
        therefore, they were deliberately indifferent to a risk of harm to
        Scott. See Marbury, 936 F.3d at 1233. But the statement was not a
        statement against interest of Jane Doe, and thus the district court
        did not abuse its discretion.
                                          IV.
                Generally, we apply “a deferential standard of review to a
        trial court’s jury instructions.” Bogle v. McClure, 332 F.3d 1347, 1356
        (11th Cir. 2003). A party may assign as error a failure to give an
        instruction if that party properly requested it and also properly ob-
        jected. Fed. R. Civ. P. 51(d)(1)(B). However, we “may consider a
        plain error in the instructions that has not been preserved . . . if the
        error affects substantial rights.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 51(d)(2).
               We examine “claims pertaining to jury instructions to deter-
        mine whether the jury charges, considered as a whole, sufficiently
        instructed the jury so that the jurors understood the issues and
        were not misled.” Johnson v. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc.,
        437 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir. 2006) (internal quotations omitted).
        Thus, “[t]he district court should not give an instruction which
        deals with an issue that is not properly before the jury.” Oxford
        Furniture Cos. v. Drexel Heritage Furnishings, Inc., 984 F.2d 1118, 1127
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        14                      Opinion of the Court                    21-13869

        (11th Cir. 1993). “If jury instructions accurately reflect the law, the
        trial judge is given wide discretion as to the style and wording em-
        ployed in the instruction.” Johnson, 437 F.3d at 1115. We will re-
        verse an erroneous instruction only if we are “left with a substantial
        and ineradicable doubt as to whether the jury was properly guided
        in its deliberations.” Id. (citation and internal quotations omitted).
                “It is well established in this Circuit that supervisory officials
        are not liable under § 1983 for the unconstitutional acts of their sub-
        ordinates on the basis of respondeat superior or vicarious liability.”
        Cottone v. Jenne, 326 F.3d 1352, 1360 (11th Cir. 2003) (citation omit-
        ted). “Instead, supervisory liability under § 1983 occurs either
        when the supervisor personally participates in the alleged uncon-
        stitutional conduct or when there is a causal connection between
        the actions of a supervising official and the alleged constitutional
        deprivation.” Id. “The necessary causal connection can be estab-
        lished when a history of widespread abuse puts the responsible su-
        pervisor on notice of the need to correct the alleged deprivation,
        and he fails to do so.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). “Alterna-
        tively, the causal connection may be established when a supervi-
        sor’s custom or policy . . . result[s] in deliberate indifference to con-
        stitutional rights or when facts support an inference that the super-
        visor directed the subordinates to act unlawfully or knew that the
        subordinates would act unlawfully and failed to stop them from
        doing so.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). “The standard by
        which a supervisor is held liable in his individual capacity for the
        actions of a subordinate is extremely rigorous.” Id. (brackets and
        citation omitted).
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                         15

                Here, the district court did not err, plainly or otherwise, in
        failing to instruct the jury on supervisory liability under § 1983.
        Scott did not request a jury instruction on supervisory liability.
        Nor did he raise an objection to the instructions below which suf-
        ficiently covered Scott’s theory of the case—his failure-to-protect
        claim. Moreover, neither Defendant Weston nor Defendant
        Gomez supervised Jane Doe, the officer who permitted Scott to be
        placed in the holding cell with Dean at the courthouse. Jane Doe
        was employed by Court Services Bureau, a completely separate
        unit from the detention center that employed Defendants. Addi-
        tionally, Scott never raised a separate due process claim regarding
        the denial of outdoor recreation, and, therefore, the district court
        did not err by not giving the jury an instruction on such denial.
                                          V.
                “We review de novo the district court’s grant of a motion to
        dismiss under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 12(b)(6) for failure
        to state a claim, accepting the allegations in the complaint as true
        and construing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.”
        Hill v. White, 321 F.3d 1334, 1335 (11th Cir. 2003). Further, “[i]n the
        case of a pro se action, . . . [we] should construe the complaint more
        liberally than it would formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Powell
        v. Lennon, 914 F.2d 1459, 1463 (11th Cir. 1990).
               To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a complaint
        must allege sufficient facts to state a claim that is plausible on its
        face, which occurs “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that
        allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the
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        16                     Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

        defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
        556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). “[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the
        ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels
        and conclusions, and formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause
        of action will not do.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555
        (2007). In other words, a plaintiff must allege facts that sufficiently
        connect the defendant with the alleged constitutional violation. See
        Douglas v. Yates, 535 F.3d 1316, 1321-22 (11th Cir. 2008) (holding
        that dismissal of claims was appropriate where the plaintiff failed
        to allege facts associating certain defendants with a particular con-
        stitutional violation).
                Here, Scott did not allege facts that would connect Sergeant
        Jefferson with the alleged constitutional violation or allow the dis-
        trict court to draw the inference that he was liable for the alleged
        misconduct. Contrary to Scott’s argument—that advanced notice
        of the substantial risk of harm was not required—the subjective
        component of the deliberate indifference element required that
        Sergeant Jefferson “be aware of facts from which the inference
        could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists.” See
        Marbury, 936 F.3d at 1233. Further, although Scott argues that he
        alleged that Sergeant Jefferson failed to take any action in response
        to his safety concerns, he specifically alleged that Sergeant Jefferson
        told him that he would not encounter other inmates, and, as the
        district court noted, he did not make any other factual allegations
        that Jefferson knew that Scott was still being placed with other in-
        mates and failed to respond. Accordingly, the district court did not
        abuse its discretion in dismissing Sergeant Jefferson as a defendant.
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                         17

                                         VI.
               We review a district court’s dismissal under
        Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) for an abuse of discretion. Rance v. Rocksolid
        Granit USA, Inc., 583 F.3d 1284, 1286 (11th Cir. 2009). Rule 4(m)
        provides that, “[i]f a defendant is not served within 90 days after the
        complaint is filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice
        to the plaintiff—must dismiss the action without prejudice against
        that defendant or order that service be made within a specified
        time.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). However, “if the plaintiff shows good
        cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for
        an appropriate period.” Id. “Good cause exists when some outside
        factor, such as reliance on faulty advice, rather than inadvertence
        or negligence, prevented service.” Rance, 583 F.3d at 1286 (internal
        quotations omitted).
               Generally, “fictitious-party pleading is not permitted in fed-
        eral court.” Richardson v. Johnson, 598 F.3d 734, 738 (11th Cir.
        2010). However, a distinction exists between claims against ficti-
        tious defendants and claims against real defendants sued under fic-
        titious names because, “for one reason or another, the plaintiff is
        unwilling or unable to use a party’s real name.” Dean v. Barber,
        951 F.2d 1210, 1215-16 & n.6 (11th Cir. 1992). We also have sug-
        gested that, in the context of prisoner lawsuits, where plaintiffs en-
        counter difficulties in identifying the precise defendants, an appro-
        priate alternative to dismissal may be for the district court to order
        disclosure of the defendants’ identities or to “permit the plaintiff to
        obtain their identity through discovery.” See Brown v. Sikes,
        212 F.3d 1205, 1209 n.4 (11th Cir. 2000) (citation omitted).
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        18                     Opinion of the Court                21-13869

                Accordingly, we have stated that a claim may be maintained
        against an unnamed defendant if the defendant is sufficiently iden-
        tified, such that the name would “be, at the very worst, surplus-
        age.” Dean, 951 F.2d at 1215 n.6. The identification must be more
        specific than a person’s title. Richardson, 598 F.3d at 738. The pro-
        posed defendant must actually exist, and the complaint must de-
        scribe “the person to be sued so that the person could be identified
        for service.” Dean, 951 F.2d at 1215 n.6. For example, naming a
        defendant with a unique title, such as “Chief Deputy of the Jeffer-
        son County Jail John Doe” and “Governor of Alabama,” has been
        treated as sufficient. Id. at 1215-16 & n.6. In sum, “as long as the
        court-appointed agent can locate the prison-guard defendant with
        reasonable effort, prisoner-litigants who provide enough infor-
        mation to identify the prison-guard defendant have established
        good cause for Rule 4(m) purposes.” Richardson, 598 F.3d at 740.
               Here, Scott did not show good cause for his failure to iden-
        tify and serve Officer Jane Doe. As an initial matter, Scott only
        identified Officer Jane Doe by her title, which was an insufficient
        description to allow him to maintain a claim against an unnamed
        defendant. See Dean, 951 F.2d at 1215 n.6; Richardson, 598 F.3d at
        738. Additionally, before dismissing Officer Jane Doe, the district
        court gave Scott multiple opportunities to identify her, and it does
        not appear to have abused its discretion in the methods that it took
        to assist him. Brown, 212 F.3d at 1209 n.4. Specifically, although
        Scott requested to see photographs of every African American fe-
        male working in the bridge holding cell on May 15, he provided
        specific details describing Officer Jane Doe, including her height
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        21-13869               Opinion of the Court                         19

        and weight, which allowed Commander Prats, Lieutenant Gayle,
        and Miami Dade County to narrow it down to two officers that
        generally fit Scott’s description. Consequently, showing Scott pho-
        tographs of the 54 officers that did not fit the general description
        would have been superfluous and, therefore, unnecessary. Thus,
        the district court’s three photo arrays, which contained photo-
        graphs of the two officers fitting Scott’s description, appear to be
        adequate to assist him in identifying Officer Jane Doe, even though
        he was ultimately unable to do so. Accordingly, the district court
        did not abuse its discretion in dismissing her as a defendant.
                                         VII.
                Municipalities and other local government entities are “per-
        sons” within the scope of § 1983. Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs.,
        436 U.S. 658, 690 (1978). However, “a municipality cannot be held
        liable solely because it employs a tortfeasor . . . or, in other words,
        a municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat
        superior theory.” Id. at 691. Rather, “to impose § 1983 liability on
        a municipality, a plaintiff must show: (1) that his constitutional
        rights were violated; (2) that the municipality had a custom or pol-
        icy that constituted deliberate indifference to that constitutional
        right; and (3) that the policy or custom caused the violation.”
        McDowell v. Brown, 392 F.3d 1283, 1289 (11th Cir. 2004). Conse-
        quently, “only municipal officers or groups who have final policy-
        making authority may subject the municipality to § 1983 liability.”
        Campbell v. Rainbow City, 434 F.3d 1306, 1312 (11th Cir. 2006).
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        20                     Opinion of the Court                21-13869

               Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion in dis-
        missing Miami-Dade County as a defendant. In his complaint,
        Scott acknowledged that Miami Dade County had protocols in
        place to ensure the safety of prisoners, which he alleged that the
        Defendants failed to follow, and, therefore, he did not show that
        Miami Dade County “had a custom or policy that constituted de-
        liberate indifference to” his constitutional rights. Additionally, he
        did not allege sufficient facts to show that the Defendants, who
        were employed by the MDDOC, had any “final policymaking au-
        thority” with respect to Miami Dade County. See Campbell, 434
        F.3d at 1312.
                                       VIII.
               “[W]e review a district court’s decision about whether to
        award costs to the prevailing party for abuse of discretion.”
        Mathews v. Crosby, 480 F.3d 1265, 1276 (11th Cir. 2007). “An abuse
        of discretion occurs if the trial judge bases an award or denial upon
        findings of fact that are clearly erroneous.” Id.
               Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(1) provides that,
        “[u]nless a federal statute, the[] [Federal] [R]ules [of Civil Proce-
        dure], or a court order provides otherwise, costs—other than attor-
        ney’s fees—should be allowed to the prevailing party,” and “[t]he
        clerk may tax costs on 14 days’ notice.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1).
        Rule 54(d)(1) “establishes a presumption that costs are to be
        awarded to a prevailing party, but vests the district court with dis-
        cretion to decide otherwise.” Chapman v. AI Transp., 229 F.3d 1012,
        1038 (11th Cir. 2000). “To defeat the presumption and deny full
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        21-13869                Opinion of the Court                         21

        costs, a district court must have and state a sound basis for doing
        so.” Id. at 1039. “[A] non-prevailing party’s financial status is a fac-
        tor that a district court may, but need not, consider in its award of
        costs pursuant to Rule 54(d).” Id. “If a district court in determining
        the amount of costs to award chooses to consider the non-prevail-
        ing party’s financial status, it should require substantial documen-
        tation of a true inability to pay.” Id.
               Additionally, the Southern District of Florida’s Local Rules
        provide that a party who seeks taxable costs must file a bill of costs
        “within thirty (30) days of entry of final judgment or other appeal-
        able order that gives rise to a right to tax costs.”
        S.D. Fla. L. R. 7.3(c). Notably, a timely motion for a new trial “sus-
        pends the finality of a judgment adverse to the movant for the pur-
        pose of an appeal until a ruling is made upon the motion.” Phinney
        v. Houston Oil Field Material Co., 252 F.2d 357, 359 (5th Cir. 1958).
               Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion in grant-
        ing the Defendants’ motion for costs. Scott argues that the Defend-
        ants violated Rule 54(d)(2)(B)(i) because they did not file their mo-
        tion within 14 days of the jury’s verdict. However, that provision
        governs claims for attorney’s fees and related nontaxable expenses,
        while the Defendants’ motion sought payment for “all taxable
        costs” under Rule 54(d)(1), which does not require a timely motion
        by the prevailing party. Compare Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1) with Fed.
        R.Civ.P. 54(d)(2). In other words, Scott’s timing argument is irrel-
        evant because Defendants sought only payment of taxable costs.
        Moreover, Scott’s timely motion for a new trial suspended the final
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        22                      Opinion of the Court                  21-13869

        judgment until the district court ruled on such motion, and the De-
        fendants timely filed their motion and bill of costs nine days after
        the district court denied Scott’s motion for a new trial. Phinney, 252
        F.2d at 359; S.D. Fla. L. R. 7.3(c).
               Additionally, the Defendants were the prevailing party, and
        there is a presumption that they were entitled to an award of costs.
        See Chapman, 229 F.3d at 1038. Although Scott argues that the dis-
        trict court failed to explain its justification for imposing costs
        against him, it was only required to explain its justification if it was
        overcoming that presumption and denying the Defendants’ mo-
        tion for costs. But the district court did not overcome the presump-
        tion; rather, it applied the presumption and granted the Defend-
        ants’ motion for costs. See id. at 1039.
               For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court
        is
               AFFIRMED.