Lail v. Horry County, South Carolina

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-1955 RODNEY KEITH LAIL, Plaintiff – Appellant, and JAMES SPENCER; IRENE SANTACROCE; RICKY STEPHENS; MARGUERITE STEPHENS; DORIS HOLT; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH, SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. No. 08-1962 RICKY STEPHENS, Plaintiff – Appellant, and RODNEY KEITH LAIL; JAMES SPENCER; IRENE SANTACROCE; MARGUERITE STEPHENS; DORIS HOLT; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. 2 No. 08-1964 MARGUERITE STEPHENS, Plaintiff - Appellant, and RODNEY KEITH LAIL; JAMES SPENCER; IRENE SANTACROCE; RICKY STEPHENS, DORIS HOLT; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. 3 No. 08-1965 JAMES SPENCER, Plaintiff – Appellant, and RODNEY KEITH LAIL; IRENE SANTACROCE; RICKY STEPHENS; MARGUERITE STEPHENS; DORIS HOLT; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. 4 No. 08-1966 IRENE SANTACROCE, Plaintiff – Appellant, and RODNEY KEITH LAIL; JAMES SPENCER; RICKY STEPHENS; MARGUERITE STEPHENS; DORIS HOLT; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. 5 No. 08-1967 DORIS HOLT, Plaintiff – Appellant, and RODNEY KEITH LAIL; JAMES SPENCER; IRENE SANTACROCE; RICKY STEPHENS; MARGUERITE STEPHENS; NICHOLAS C. WILLIAMSON; SOUTHERN HOLDINGS, INCORPORATED, Plaintiffs, v. HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA; HORRY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT; JAMES ALBERT ALLEN, JR.; SIDNEY RICK THOMPSON; JEFFREY S. CALDWELL; CHARLES MCCLENDON; JAY BRANTLY; ANDY CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL STEVEN HARTNESS; HAROLD STEVEN HARTNESS, Defendants – Appellees, and CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH SC; MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT; WARREN GALL, individually and in his official capacity as an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department; RICHARD PAROSH, individually and in his official capacity; J.L. ZIMMERMAN, individually and in his official capacity; RICHARD B. WAY; JOHN DOES; HORRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ANCIL B. GARVIN, III; DAVID SMITH, Defendants. Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Florence. R. Bryan Harwell, District Judge. (4:02-cv-01859-RBH) 6 Submitted: December 21, 2009 Decided: January 22, 2010 Before MICHAEL, KING, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Rodney Keith Lail, Ricky Stephens, Marguerite Stephens, James Spencer, Irene Santacroce, Doris Holt, Appellants Pro Se. Andrew Lindemann, DAVIDSON & LINDEMANN, PA, Columbia, South Carolina; Sandra Jane Senn, Charleston, South Carolina; Edward Glenn Elliott, AIKEN, BRIDGES, NUNN, ELLIOTT & TYLER, PA, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 7 PER CURIAM: Rodney Lail, Ricky Stephens, Marguerite Stephens, James Spencer, Irene Santacroce, and Doris Holt appeal the district court’s orders denying their motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) seeking relief from the dismissal of their case pursuant to a settlement agreement and denying their motion seeking disqualification of the district court judge. On appeal, we confine our review to the issues raised in the Appellants’ brief. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b). With respect to the court’s order denying the Appellants’ Rule 60(b) motion, the Appellants’ opening brief fails to challenge the district court’s dispositive conclusion that the motion was not timely filed. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order. With respect to the order declining to disqualify the district court judge, we have reviewed the record and find no error. We therefore affirm that order for the reasons stated by the district court. Southern Holdings, Inc. v. Horry County, South Carolina, No. 4:02-cv-01859-RBH (D.S.C. Aug. 13, 2009). We also deny the Appellants’ emergency ex parte request for issuance of a writ of mandamus. 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 8