Thomas v. Fontenot

Case: 24-30671 Document: 53-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/30/2025

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

____________ United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

No. 24-30671

FILED May 30, 2025

Summary Calendar

____________ Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk Billy R. Thomas,

Plaintiff—Appellant, versus

Marcus L. Fontenot,

Defendant—Appellee.

______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 6:23-CV-1074 ______________________________

Before Haynes, Higginson, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam: *

We REMAND this appeal for the limited purpose of determining jurisdiction. Appellant Billy R. Thomas brought the underlying lawsuit against Judge Marcus L. Fontenot and four others. The appeal in this case regards the decision in favor of Judge Fontenot who moved to dismiss the complaint. The district court granted that motion, leading to this appeal. Case: 24-30671 Document: 53-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/30/2025

No. 24-30671

In a May 17, 2024, order, the magistrate judge stated that the other defendants were not properly served. However, the district court’s docket entry dated November 2, 2023, indicates that several of the other defendants did have their summons executed.

Given this discrepancy, we remand this case to the district court for the limited purpose of determining if proper service was made on any of the defendants other than Judge Fontenot. Once determined, the district court can return this case to us to determine our jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291; Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b).

Accordingly, this appeal is REMANDED.