Case: 17-50083 Document: 00514219310 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/01/2017
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
No. 17-50083
Fifth Circuit
FILED
November 1, 2017
SCOTT W. GRAVES, Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
GUADALUPE VALLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER,
Defendant-Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 5:16-CV-1017
Before DAVIS, CLEMENT, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Scott W. Graves moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in
appealing the district court’s dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint as
frivolous and for failure to state a claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
Graves alleged that the defendant provided inadequate medical care in
treating him for a gunshot wound to the head and releasing him in the custody
of police.
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 17-50083 Document: 00514219310 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/01/2017
No. 17-50083
As a threshold matter, this court must determine whether it has
jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. Mosley v. Cozby, 813 F.2d 659, 660 (5th
Cir. 1987). A timely notice of appeal is mandatory and jurisdictional in a civil
case. Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). Graves’s notice of appeal,
which we consider filed no earlier than the date he signed it on January 23,
2017, is untimely from the district court’s November 17, 2016, order denying
Graves’s motion to amend his complaint. See FED. R. APP. P. 4(a)(1)(A) (a party
must file a notice of appeal in a civil case within 30 days of the order or
judgment). There is no basis to construe his notice of appeal as a motion for
extension of time under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5). Moreover,
his IFP motions are not the substantial equivalent of a notice of appeal for
purposes of invoking appellate jurisdiction. See Fischer v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice,
759 F.2d 461, 464 (5th Cir. 1985).
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and the
motion to appeal IFP is denied is as moot. See Bowles, 551 U.S. at 214.
APPEAL DISMISSED; MOTION DENIED AS MOOT.
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