Case: 20-11199 Document: 00516156663 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/06/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
January 6, 2022
No. 20-11199 Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
Carol M. Kam,
Plaintiff—Appellant,
versus
Dallas County; State of Texas,
Defendants—Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 3:18-CV-378
Before Owen, Chief Judge, and Haynes and Costa, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Kam challenges the district court’s denial of her Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 60 motion to “vacate” a two-year old district court order
dismissing her claim pursuant to the Rooker–Feldman doctrine. We
AFFIRM.
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
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No. 20-11199
I
The factual and procedural history of this case is circuitous, to put it
mildly, and a thorough discussion is not helpful for the disposition of this
current appeal—Kam’s third before this court. In brief, nearly a decade ago,
a Texas state court ruled against Kam in a dispute concerning her late
brother’s trust. Kam exhausted her state court appeals and then turned to
the federal courts seeking, in various lawsuits, relief against the judge who
ruled against her, Dallas County, and the State of Texas. In 2018, the district
court below entered a final judgment dismissing Kam’s claims against Dallas
County and the State of Texas based on the Rooker–Feldman doctrine. This
court affirmed, agreeing with the district court that her claims were
prohibited under Rooker–Feldman as “a thinly-veiled collateral attack on the
state courts’ final judgment.” 1 After the Supreme Court denied certiorari,
Kam returned to the district court and filed the FRCP 60 motion at issue in
the current appeal. She filed her motion in 2020—over two years after the
district court issued its final judgment. Kam seeks relief from the judgment
of the district court under FRCP 60(b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(6), and (d).
II
Before turning to the FRCP 60 arguments, we must first address
Kam’s governmental liability arguments, waiver, and her status as a pro se
appellant. This court typically will not consider arguments that were not first
presented to the district court. 2 In her brief before this court, Kam raises the
issue of governmental liability under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. Kam
1
Kam v. Peyton, 773 F. App’x 784, 785 (5th Cir. 2019) (per curiam) (unpublished);
see also D.C. Ct. of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983); Rooker v. Fidelity Tr. Co., 263
U.S. 413 (1923); Phinizy v. Alabama, 847 F.2d 282, 284 (5th Cir. 1988).
2
Grogan v. Kumar, 873 F.3d 273, 277 (5th Cir. 2017).
2
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No. 20-11199
submitted almost identical briefing to the district court in support of her
motion except for the section discussing governmental liability. In her briefing
before the district court, that section is completely absent. We are “a court
of review, not of first view.” 3 Because Kam did not raise §§ 1983 and 1985
in her motion to the district court, she has forfeited those arguments on
appeal. 4
Dallas County argues not only that Kam has forfeited her §§ 1983 and
1985 claims, but also that she has waived—on a theory of insufficient
briefing—all of her FRCP 60 claims. We disagree in part, however, because
in contrast to her §§ 1983 and 1985 arguments, Kam did at least raise the
issue of FRCP 60 both in her brief below and in this court. Additionally,
while her briefing is sparse, she is proceeding pro se and we construe her brief
liberally. 5 However, that does not mean that Kam preserved all of her
arguments. Even construed liberally, the brief must make some argument. 6
Although Kam mentions FRCP 60(d), we agree with Dallas County that
Kam has waived any argument based on FRCP 60(d) because Kam does
nothing more than make a passing mention of the rule without further
argument. Unlike her FRCP 60(b) argument, Kam does not elaborate on
the potential bases for relief under 60(d) at all. Failure to brief an issue
adequately on appeal can constitute waiver of that issue and does so here. 7
3
Montano v. Texas, 867 F.3d 540, 546 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting United States v.
Vicencio, 647 F. App’x 170, 177 (4th Cir. 2016) (per curiam) (unpublished)).
4
See Rollins v. Home Depot USA, 8 F.4th 393, 397 (5th Cir. 2021).
5
Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 225 (5th Cir. 1993).
6
See id. (quoting Weaver v. Puckett, 896 F.2d 126, 128 (5th Cir. 1990)) (holding that
a pro se party’s argument that did not “contain the reasons he deserves the requested
relief” was waived).
7
See Monteon-Camargo v. Barr, 918 F.3d 423, 428 (5th Cir. 2019) (noting the rule).
3
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III
All that remains of Kam’s appeal are her arguments drawn from
FRCP 60(b)(1)-(3) and (6). We review denials of FRCP 60(b) motions for
abuse of discretion. 8 A party can seek relief under FRCP 60(b)(1)-(3) for,
among other things: mistake, newly discovered evidence, or fraud. 9 Rule
60(c)(1) requires movants to seek relief “within a reasonable time—and for
[relief under (b)(1)-(3)] no more than one year after the entry of the judgment
or order or the date of the proceeding.” 10 It is not an abuse of discretion to
deny a FRCP 60(b)(1)-(3) motion on untimeliness grounds. 11 Because Kam
filed her FRCP 60(b)(1)-(3) motion more than one year after the 2018 final
judgment from which she sought relief, the district court did not abuse its
discretion in denying her motion as to those three sections.
Kam’s argument drawn from FRCP 60(b)(6) fares no better. Relief
under Rule 60(b)(6) is available for “any other reason that justifies relief,”12
but it is available only in “extraordinary circumstances.” 13 Even construing
the brief liberally, it is difficult to tell what extraordinary circumstances Kam
relies on other than that she alleges the Texas court decision against her
nearly a decade ago is void. But the motion currently on appeal seeks relief
from the federal judgment dismissing her claim on Rooker–Feldman
8
In re Deepwater Horizon, 988 F.3d 192, 200 n.23 (5th Cir. 2021) (citing Silvercreek
Mgmt., Inc. v. Banc of Am. Sec., LLC, 534 F.3d 469, 471 (5th Cir. 2008)).
9
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1)-(3).
10
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1).
11
See Tollett v. City of Kemah, 285 F.3d 357, 369 (5th Cir. 2002) (denying an
untimely FRCP 60(b)(1)-(3) motion).
12
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6).
13
Priester v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 927 F.3d 912, 913 (5th Cir. 2019) (quoting
United States ex rel. Garibaldi v. Orleans Parish Sch. Bd., 397 F.3d 334, 337 (5th Cir. 2005)).
4
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grounds—not the Texas court decision, and Kam never claims that the
federal judgment is void. 14 Kam does contend that Rooker–Feldman is
inapplicable to her claim precisely because, she argues, the underlying state
court decision is void, but this court has already addressed whether the
doctrine applies to her claim and held that it does. 15 This panel may not
overrule the decision of a prior panel “absent an intervening decision to the
contrary by the Supreme Court or this court en banc.” 16
In the end, the only potentially extraordinary circumstance Kam’s
argument identifies is the alleged invalidity of a state court decision not at
issue in the motion—an argument this court has already rejected. It was not
an abuse of discretion for the district court to reject such a threadbare and
inapposite argument, especially considering Kam did not offer any new
evidence of invalidity. 17
IV
Carried with this appeal is a motion by Kam to supplement the record.
The supplementary materials pertain to a complaint of judicial misconduct
that Kam’s brother filed against the Supreme Court of Texas. “Generally,
we will not enlarge the record on appeal with evidence not before the district
14
It is for this same reason that, even liberally construed, Kam’s briefing does not
raise an FRCP 60(b)(4) voidness argument.
15
Kam v. Peyton, 773 F. App’x 784, 785 (5th Cir. 2019) (per curiam) (unpublished).
16
In re Henry, 944 F.3d 587, 591 (5th Cir. 2019) (quoting United States v. Simkanin,
420 F.3d 397, 420 n.25 (5th Cir. 2005)).
17
Cf. Batts v. Tow-Motor Forklift Co., 66 F.3d 743, 747-48 (5th Cir. 1995) (holding
that even a change in decisional law was not an extraordinary circumstance); see also Thomas
v. Stafflink, Inc., 855 F. App’x 983, 984 (5th Cir. 2021) (per curiam) (unpublished) (holding
that it was not an abuse of discretion to deny an FRCP 60(b)(6) motion that repeated
arguments from earlier in the proceedings and otherwise failed to provide evidence in
support).
5
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court.” 18 Because the district court did not review these materials, and there
are no extenuating circumstances, we will not consider them.
* * *
For the foregoing reasons, the order of the district court is
AFFIRMED. Kam’s motion to supplement the record is DENIED.
18
Trinity Indus., Inc. v. Martin, 963 F.2d 795, 799 (5th Cir. 1992).
6