U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2010

Christopher Prosser v. Govinarajulu Nagaldinne

Christopher Prosser v. Govinarajulu Nagaldinne
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Decided April 12, 2010 · Melloy, Bowman, Smith
371 F. App'x 710

Christopher Prosser v. Govinarajulu Nagaldinne

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Inmate Christopher Prosser appeals an order of the District Court 1 denying his *711 motion pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that sought relief from two orders of the court: a May 2008 order granting two defendants’ motion to dismiss, and a January 2009 order granting Prosser’s motion to voluntarily dismiss the remaining defendants without prejudice.

We review the denial of a Rule 60(b) motion for abuse of discretion, see MIF Realty L.P. v. Rochester Assocs., 92 F.3d 752, 755 (8th Cir. 1996), and we find no abuse of discretion in this case. As to the May 2008 dismissal order, Prosser sought Rule 60(b) relief by challenging the substantive basis for the dismissal, but this challenge should have been raised in a direct appeal of that order. See Sanders v. Clemco Indus., 862 F.2d 161, 170 (8th Cir. 1988). As to the January 2009 voluntary dismissal, Prosser did not demonstrate exceptional circumstances warranting relief from the consequences of his own motion, see Arnold v. Wood, 238 F.3d 992, 998 (8th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 975, 122 S.Ct. 400, 151 L.Ed.2d 304 (2001), and we note that he is free to refile his claims against the voluntarily dismissed defendants if he so wishes.

Accordingly, we affirm, and we deny the pending motions.

1

. The Honorable Donald J. Stohr, United Stated District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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