UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-2178
HARALD SCHMIDT,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District
Judge. (CA-02-857-A)
Submitted: February 20, 2003 Decided: February 26, 2003
Before LUTTIG, MOTZ, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Harald Schmidt, Appellant Pro Se. Dennis Edward Szybala, Assistant
United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Harald Schmidt appeals the district court’s order dismissing
without prejudice his civil action for failure to exhaust
administrative remedies.* We have reviewed the record and find no
reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm on the reasoning of the
district court. See Schmidt v. United States Postal Serv., No. CA-
02-857-A (E.D. Va. filed Aug. 2, 2002, and entered Aug. 7, 2002).
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
*
Generally, dismissals without prejudice are not appealable.
Domino Sugar Corp. v. Sugar Workers Local Union 392, 10 F.3d 1064,
1066 (4th Cir. 1993). However, a dismissal without prejudice could
be final if no amendment to the complaint could cure the defects in
the plaintiff’s case. Id. at 1066-67. We find that the district
court’s order is a final, appealable order because the defect in
the complaint—failure to exhaust administrative remedies—had to be
cured by something more than an amendment to the complaint. Id.
2