Shabazz v. White
Cases that cite this one
5 later published cases cite this decision.
- Vanessa Williams-Mactavious in Her Capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Pauline Lornette Sharry, F/K/A Pauline L. Sharry, F/K/A Pauline Sharry v. Keith A. Williams (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands 2026)
- Captain's Command at Bluebeard's Beach Club Interval Ownership Condo. Association v. Ralph R. Bonner and Marsha S. Bonner (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands 2025)
- Newrez LLC d/b/a/ Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing v. Estate of Suzy Amber Green, by and through its Cynthia M. Zeki a/k/a Cynthia Zeki; Cynthia M. Zeki, individually; Ewan Ernest Harney a/k/a Ewan E. Harney a/k/a Ewan Harney; and ANY AND ALL UNKNOWN HEIRS, Beneficiaries, Devisees, Creditors, Grantees, Assignees, Lienors, Trustees, And All Other Parties Claiming an Interest by through, under or against the Estate of Suzy Amber Green (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands 2025)
- Captain's Command at Bluebeard's Beach Club Interval Ownership Condo, Assoc., Inc. v. Christian D'Andrade and Joyce Pinkney (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands 2025)
- Ahmed Shabazz v. City of Houston (5th Cir. 2013)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
Ahmed S. Shabazz, also known as Clarence M. Hines, has filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on appeal from the district court’s judgment dismissing his civil rights complaint and granting a defendant’s summary-judgment motion. By moving for leave to proceed IFP, Shabazz is challenging the district court’s certification that his appeal was not taken in good faith. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir. 1997).
Shabazz contends in a cursory manner that the district court erred by refusing to grant a default judgment against all defendants. Certified mail from Shabazz did not constitute proper service on the defendants under federal or Texas service rules. See Delta Steamships Lines, Inc. v. Albano, 768 F.2d 728, 730 (5th Cir. 1985). A default judgment would have been unwarranted on this basis. See Harper Madeod Solicitors v. Keaty & Keaty., 260 F.3d 389, 393 (5th Cir. 2001). Moreover, Sheriff Tommy Thomas responded to the complaint and obtained a summary judgment, so a default judgment was unavailable against him. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Even had service been proper, Shabazz was not entitled to default judgments as a matter of right on his unsupported claims. See Lewis v. Lynn, 236 F.3d 766, 767 (5th Cir. 2001).
Shabazz asserts that summary judgment was improper and that the district court should have imposed sanctions on Sheriff Thomas’s attorney under Fed. R. Crv. P. 11. Shabazz waived any appeal of these issues by failing to provide any substantive argument concerning them in his brief. See Brinkmann v. Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987). In any event, he fails to identify any basis for sanctions, and his “conelusory allegations” do not defeat summary judgment. Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994)(en banc). Moreover, Shabazz failed to state a cause of action based on anything other than vicarious liability for which relief is unavailable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Kohler v. Englade, 470 F.3d 1104, 1114-15 (5th Cir. 2006).
Shabazz has failed to identify any non-frivolous ground for appeal. His motion to proceed IFP is DENIED, and his appeal is DISMISSED as frivolous. See 5th Cir. R. 42.2; Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983).
Pursuant to 5th Cir R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.