Whitman v. Lambright

Case: 25-30688 Document: 27-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/14/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

____________ United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

No. 25-30688

FILED April 14, 2026

Summary Calendar

____________ Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk Bubba Jonathan Whitman,

Plaintiff—Appellant, versus

Tony Lambright, Vernon Parish District Attorney; Larry Wallace, Director, LA Dept of Children & Family Services; Charles Bryson, Asst. Commissioner, Family Assistance & Child Support Division, TN Dept of Human Services; Scott Westerchill, in his official capacity as Judge, 30th JDC Vernon Parish; Anthony Eaves, in his official capacity as Judge, 30th JDC Vernon Parish,

Defendants—Appellees.

______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:25-CV-1577 ______________________________

Before Smith, Higginson, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam: *

Tony Lambright, pro se, sued various Vernon Parish officials under Case: 25-30688 Document: 27-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/14/2026

No. 25-30688

42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Declaratory Judgment Act. He appeals the denial of his second motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

The suit complains of the alleged mishandling of a domestic dispute, to-wit, error in registering a child-support order. The main question on ap- peal is whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine applies here to divest the federal district court of jurisdiction to entertain a collateral attack on the state-court judgment.

The district court denied the injunction and TRO. In a concise but sufficiently thorough three-page Memorandum Order, issued on October 29, 2025, the court explained as follows: “Plaintiff now attempts to plead around Rooker-Feldman, arguing that he is not seeking review of a state court judg- ment but attempting ‘to halt ongoing constitutional violations by state officials.’” “[A]ll of plaintiff’s claims stem from the fact that he believes the state court erred in registering the child support order—a matter for state court review.”

The district court is correct in its application of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The order denying preliminary relief is AFFIRMED.