Cynthia Fisher v. Walgreens
Cynthia Fisher v. Walgreens
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 18-2041
DR. CYNTHIA FISHER,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
WALGREENS,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Max O. Cogburn, Jr., District Judge. (1:17-cv-00225-MOC-DLH)
Submitted: February 26, 2019 Decided: February 28, 2019
Before KING, THACKER, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Cynthia Fisher, Appellant Pro Se. Elizabeth Ruth Gift, Kelly S. Hughes, OGLETREE DEAKINS NASH SMOAK & STEWART, PC, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Cynthia Fisher seeks to appeal the district court’s order adopting the magistrate
judge’s report and dismissing her complaint without prejudice. Before addressing the
merits of Fisher’s appeal, we first must be assured that we have jurisdiction. Porter v.
Zook,
803 F.3d 694, 696(4th Cir. 2015). We may exercise jurisdiction only over final
orders,
28 U.S.C. § 1291(2012), and certain interlocutory and collateral orders,
28 U.S.C. § 1292(2012); Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp.,
337 U.S. 541, 545-47(1949). Because the order from which Fisher appeals does not
“clearly preclude amendment,” Fisher may be able to remedy the deficiencies identified
by the district court by filing an amended complaint. Accordingly, the district court’s
dismissal order is neither a final nor an appealable interlocutory or collateral order. See
Goode v. Cent. Va. Legal Aid Soc’y, Inc.,
807 F.3d 619, 623-24(4th Cir. 2015); Domino
Sugar Corp. v. Sugar Workers Local Union 392,
10 F.3d 1064, 1066-67(4th Cir. 1993).
We therefore deny Fisher leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss this
appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Goode,
807 F.3d at 630. In Goode, we remanded to the
district court with instructions to allow amendment of the complaint. Here, however,
Fisher already filed a motion for leave to amend her complaint, which the district court
denied as futile. Accordingly, we direct on remand that the district court, in its
discretion, either afford Fisher another opportunity to file an amended complaint or
2 dismiss the claims over which the district court has jurisdiction with prejudice, * thereby
rendering the dismissal order a final, appealable order. 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 AND REMANDED
* We recognize that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the claims that Fisher failed to exhaust and may not dismiss the complaint in its entirety with prejudice. See Hentosh v. Old Dominion Univ.,
767 F.3d 413, 416(4th Cir. 2014).
3
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished