Thomas v. Richard

Case: 24-30678 Document: 26-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/27/2025

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

No. 24-30678

FILED May 27, 2025 Summary Calendar ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Balazkie R. Thomas,

Plaintiff—Appellant, versus

Hillary Richard; Alicia Phillips-Kelly; Renata

Richard,

Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 6:23-CV-1072 ______________________________

Before Dennis, Ho, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam: *

Plaintiff-Appellant Balazkie Thomas brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by Defendants-Appellees Hillary Richard, Alicia Phillips-Kelly, and Renata Richard. The district court dismissed Thomas’s claims under Federal Case: 24-30678 Document: 26-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/27/2025

No. 24-30678

Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), finding that his § 1983 claims failed because Defendants are not state actors.

Section 1983 authorizes a claim for relief only against persons who acted under color of state law. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983. “For a private citizen . . . to be held liable under section 1983, the plaintiff must allege that the citizen conspired with or acted in concert with state actors.” Priester v. Lowndes Cnty., 354 F.3d 414, 420 (5th Cir. 2004). Plaintiff does not allege that any Defendant is a state actor, or that they acted in concert with state actors, foreclosing his § 1983 claims. As such, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.