Townsend v. Lockhart

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 01-2377 BURNEY RAY TOWNSEND, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus THOMAS JEFFERSON LOCKHART; D. E. RAYNOR; JOHN L. MORRIS; GREGORY S. GEORGIADE; ESTES EXPRESS LINE; EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES OF ROBESON COUNTY; DUKE UNIVERSITY, Duke University Medical Center; HUTCH OWENS; JOHN DAVID HERNANDEZ; CLYDE ARTHUR HELMS; MICHAEL TODD JACOB; JOHN DOE (I-X), Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham. William L. Osteen, District Judge. (CA-01-691-1) Submitted: April 29, 2002 Decided: June 3, 2002 Before MOTZ, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Affirmed as modified by unpublished per curiam opinion. Burney Ray Townsend, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Burney Ray Townsend seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West Supp. 2001) complaint. We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opinion accepting the magistrate judge’s recommendation and find no reversible error as to the dismissal of Townsend’s civil rights claims brought pursuant to § 1983. Although we express no opinion as to the merit of Townsend’s claims, to the extent he sought to allege non-civil rights claims under the auspice of diversity jurisdiction, we modify the district court’s order to reflect a dismissal without prejudice as to those claims. Accordingly, we grant Townsend’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and affirm as modified. Townsend v. Lockhart, No. CA-01-691-1 (M.D.N.C. Oct. 26, 2001). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED 2