F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
JUN 14 2004
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
KENNETH L. ARMBECK,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 03-1394
(D.C. No. 99-RB-712 (BNB))
DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT; (D. Colo.)
D. QUINONES, Sergeant; D. WILEY,
Officer; CITY OF DENVER;
WELLINGTON WEBB, as Mayor for
the City of Denver; BUTCH
MONTOYA, as Manager of
Department of Public Safety for the
City of Denver; DAVID MICHAUD,
as Chief of Police for the City and
County of Denver,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY , Circuit Judge, BRORBY , Senior Circuit Judge, and BRISCOE ,
Circuit Judge.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Kenneth L. Armbeck, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals from the
district court’s order granting summary judgment for the defendants on Mr.
Armbeck’s excessive force claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 1
Mr. Armbeck
concedes that he filed this action outside the applicable two-year statute of
limitations, Aplt. Br. at 11, but asserts that the district court erred by not finding
him entitled to equitable tolling. He claims the statute of limitation should be
tolled because he suffered a serious head injury that left him too incoherent to
realize that his injuries had been wrongfully inflicted, and because the Denver
District Attorney’s Office misled him into forgoing his right to file suit against
the officers who allegedly injured him. He also contends that the district court
erred by finding that the defendants had not waived their statute of limitations
defense, and by failing to recognize the district court’s bias against him.
Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review the district
court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence in the light
most favorable to the nonmovant. Hammons v. Saffle , 348 F.3d 1250, 1254 (10th
Cir. 2003). “Summary judgment is only appropriate when there is no genuine
issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of
1
Mr. Armbeck has apparently abandoned his state law claim of assault and
battery, and we therefore need not address it. See United States v. Seminole
Nation of Okla. , 321 F.3d 939, 946 n.5 (10th Cir. 2002) (refusing to address a
matter that a party had abandoned on appeal).
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law.” Id. ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). “We review the district court’s refusal to apply
equitable tolling for an abuse of discretion.” Garrett v. Fleming , 362 F.3d 692,
695 (10th Cir. 2004). Because Mr. Armbeck is pro se, we construe his pleadings
liberally. Hammons , 348 F.3d at 1254.
The parties are familiar with the facts and the extensive procedural history
underlying this appeal. We therefore restate neither here. We do note, however,
that on March 22, 2004, Mr. Armbeck filed with this court a “Motion for
Affidavit” that we construe as a motion to supplement the record with the
affidavit of Mr. Armbeck’s “jailhouse lawyer.” Because the affidavit, dated
February 4, 2004, was not offered to or considered by the district court, we deny
Mr. Armbeck’s motion to supplement the record with this material. See Magnum
Foods, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co. , 36 F.3d 1491, 1502 n.12 (10th Cir. 1994)
(court of appeals’ “review of a grant of summary judgment is limited to the record
before the trial court at the time it made its ruling”); accord Allen v. Minnstar,
Inc. , 8 F.3d 1470, 1475 n.4 (10th Cir. 1993). We likewise deny Mr. Armbeck’s
motion dated April 19, 2004, asking this court to supplement the record with
police reports that were not offered to or considered by the district court. Id.
Accordingly, neither the affidavit nor the police reports influence our disposition
today.
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Having carefully considered the parties’ briefs, the record, and applicable
law, we conclude that the district court correctly decided this case. We therefore
AFFIRM its judgment dated August 15, 2003, for substantially the same reasons
set forth in its August 8, 2003, order adopting the magistrate judge’s thorough and
well-reasoned recommendation dated July 3, 2003. R., Docs. 165, 164, 161. We
GRANT Mr. Armbeck’s motion to proceed without prepayment of costs and
remind Mr. Armbeck that he is obligated to continue making partial payments
until the fee has been paid in full. All outstanding motions are denied.
Entered for the Court
Wade Brorby
Senior Circuit Judge
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