UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 98-2551

RONALD E. LEKARZ, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus

GRIEG HOLDINGS AS; JOACHIM GRIEG & COMPANY AS; GRIEG SHIPPING AS, Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. William M. Nickerson, District Judge. (CA-98-1287-WMN)

Submitted: April 30, 1999 Decided: August 6, 1999

Before WILKINSON, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William E. Tisano, Ellicot City, Maryland, for Appellant. W.

Cameron Beard, HEALY & BAILLIE, L.L.P., New York, New York; M.

Hamilton Whitman, Jr., Jeffrey A. Regner, OBER, KALER, GRIMES & SHRIVER, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Ronald E. LeKarz appeals the district court’s order dismissing this diversity defamation action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2).

On appeal, LeKarz contends that the district court abused its dis- cretion in declining to allow LeKarz limited discovery regarding the jurisdictional issue. See Mylan Lab., Inc. v. Akzo, N.V., 2 F.3d 56, 64 (4th Cir. 1993). Our review of the record reveals no abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we affirm on the reasoning of the district court. See LeKarz v. Grieg Holdings AS, No. CA-98- 1287-WMN (D. Md. Sept. 10, 1998). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the Court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED