United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 24-1208 ___________________________ Pablito Vega Plaintiff - Appellant v. Steve Grove, Minnesota DEED Commissioner - PRE 13 JAN 2023; Matt Varilek, Minnesota DEED Commissioner - POST 13 JAN 2023 Defendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________ Submitted: July 10, 2024 Filed: July 15, 2024 [Unpublished] ____________ Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Pablito Vega appeals the district court’s 1 dismissal of his pro se complaint as barred by res judicata and for failure to state a claim. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

After careful de novo review of the record and the parties’ arguments on appeal, this court finds no basis for reversal. See Banks v. Int’l Union Elec. Workers, 390 F.3d 1049, 1052 (8th Cir. 2004) (standard of review). It is evident from the record that Vega’s claims are barred by res judicata. See St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Compaq Comput. Corp., 539 F.3d 809, 821 (8th Cir. 2008) (law of forum that rendered first judgment controls res judicata analysis); Hauschildt v. Beckingham, 686 N.W.2d 829, 840 (Minn. 2004) (en banc) (enumerating Minnesota’s requirements for res judicata). In any event, Vega failed to state a claim against the named defendants. See Madewell v. Roberts, 909 F.2d 1203, 1208 (8th Cir. 1990) (liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 requires causal link to, and direct responsibility for, alleged deprivation of rights).

The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

The Honorable Nancy E. Brasel, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. -2-