Rodriguez v. Harbeston

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 01-1884 ISIDORO RODRIGUEZ, Esq., Plaintiff - Appellant, versus JACK HARBESTON; SEA SEARCH ARMADA; ARMADA COMPANY; IOTA PARTNERS; DANILO DEVIS PEREIRA, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District Judge. (CA-00-1523-A) Submitted: November 9, 2001 Decided: November 28, 2001 Before LUTTIG, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Isidoro Rodriguez, Appellant Pro Se. R. Harrison Pledger, Jr., Bernard G. Feord, Jr., PLEDGER & FEORD, P.L.C., McLean, Virginia, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Isidoro Rodriguez appeals the district court orders dismissing his complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. We review de novo the district court’s legal conclusions concerning personal juris- diction. To the extent that the district court’s conclusions are based on findings of fact, however, such findings should not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. Mylan Lab., Inc. v. Akzo, N.V., 2 F.3d 56, 60 (4th Cir. 1993). Rodriguez bears the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that jurisdiction existed. In re Celotex Corp., 124 F.3d 619, 628 (4th Cir. 1997). We have reviewed the record and the district court’s findings and legal conclusions and find no error. Accordingly, we affirm on the reasoning of the district court. See Rodriguez v. Harbeston, No. CA-00-1523-A (E.D. Va. Dec. 21, 2000 & June 5, 2001). We deny Rodriguez’s motion seeking certification of a question from the Supreme Court of Virginia. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the ma- terials before the court, and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2