UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 16-7059
DOMINIQUE HERMAN ADAMS,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
J.S. HORNE, Correctional Officer; C/O ROLLINS,
Defendants - Appellees,
and
PRIVATE PRISON MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, Operates Wallens
Ridge State Prison; TOWN OF BIG STONE GAP WARDEN’S OFFICE;
MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING CORPORATION,
Defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Pamela Meade Sargent,
Magistrate Judge. (7:15-cv-00168-PMS)
Submitted: September 29, 2016 Decided: October 4, 2016
Before SHEDD, KEENAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Dominique Herman Adams, Appellant Pro Se. Nancy Hull Davidson,
Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
2
PER CURIAM:
Dominique Herman Adams seeks to appeal the magistrate
judge’s 1 final order in favor of some Defendants following a
bench trial in Adams’ 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012) action. 2 We
dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice
of appeal was not timely filed.
Parties are accorded 30 days after the entry of the
district court’s final judgment or order to note an appeal, Fed.
R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), unless the district court extends the
appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5), or reopens the
appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). “[T]he timely
filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional
requirement.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007).
The magistrate judge’s order was entered on the docket on
June 9, 2016. The notice of appeal was filed on August 2, 2016. 3
1 The parties consented to proceed before a magistrate judge
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) (2012).
2 Insofar as Adams’ informal brief seeks review of the
magistrate judge’s order denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)
motion, his notice of appeal and unsuccessful motion to reopen
did not fairly appeal that order, and his appellate brief is not
a timely substitute for a notice of appeal. See Fed. R. App. P.
3(c)(1)(B), 4(a)(1)(A), (4)(A)(vi), (B)(ii); Jackson v.
Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 176-77 (4th Cir. 2014).
3 For the purpose of this appeal, we assume that the date
appearing on the notice of appeal is the earliest date it could
have been properly delivered to prison officials for mailing to
(Continued)
3
Because Adams failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to
obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we
dismiss the appeal. We deny Adams’ motions for transcripts at
government expense. We dispense with oral argument because the
facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before this court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
DISMISSED
the court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266
(1988).
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