Russell J. Berger v. Correctional Medical

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Russell J. Berger v. Correctional Medical, 17 F. App'x 503 (8th Cir. 2001)

Russell J. Berger v. Correctional Medical

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Prisoner Russell Berger appeals the district court’s 1 judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action in which he had claimed medical negligence and denial of access to the courts. Upon a thorough review' of the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree with the district court that dismissal of the access-to-courts claim was proper based on absolute quasi-judicial immunity, see Martin v. Hendren, 127 F.3d 720, 721 (8th Cir. 1997), and failure to state a constitutional violation. The district court also properly refused to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over the pendent negligence claim, which it dismissed without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3). So that Berger may pursue whatever state law claims he might have against Vera Reynolds — against whom he asserted the denial-of-access claim for allegedly refusing to file certain papers — we modify Reynolds’s dismissal to be without prejudice also.

*504 Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court as modified. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

1

. The Honorable William R. Wilson, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Reference

Full Case Name
Russell J. BERGER, Appellant, v. CORRECTIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES, (Agent for Service is David Morgan), Cummins Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction; John Doe, Cummins Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction; Everett, Nurse, Cummins Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction; Vera Reynolds, Clerk of Lincoln County Circuit Court, Appellees
Status
Unpublished