William Harris v. Warden, St. Clair CF ( 2021 )


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  • USCA11 Case: 20-13354        Date Filed: 12/10/2021   Page: 1 of 4
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eleventh Circuit
    ____________________
    No. 20-13354
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ____________________
    WILLIAM HARRIS,
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    versus
    WARDEN, ST. CLAIR CF,
    WARDEN,
    HOLMAN CF WARDEN,
    WILLIAM DESPAIN,
    Classification Supervisor,
    TERRY RAYBON,
    Warden II, et al.,
    USCA11 Case: 20-13354         Date Filed: 12/10/2021    Page: 2 of 4
    2                      Opinion of the Court                 20-13354
    Defendants-Appellees.
    ____________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Alabama
    D.C. Docket No. 4:18-cv-01303-AKK-HNJ
    ____________________
    Before JILL PRYOR, NEWSOM, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    William Harris, a prisoner proceeding pro se, sued various
    Alabama Department of Corrections officials, bringing claims un-
    der 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
    . Harris alleged that just a few days after he was
    transferred to the St. Clair Correctional Facility, another inmate
    stabbed him at least five times. Harris claimed that prison officials
    violated his constitutional rights by transferring him to St. Clair
    where he had a known enemy at the facility and by failing to ade-
    quately protect him from inmate-on-inmate violence. After the dis-
    trict court granted summary judgment to the defendants, Harris
    filed a post-judgment motion, claiming that the court should re-
    consider its summary judgment order in light of newly discovered
    evidence he had obtained. About a week later, and before the dis-
    trict court had ruled on his post-judgment motion, Harris filed a
    notice of appeal. The court subsequently denied his post-judgment
    motion.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13354         Date Filed: 12/10/2021     Page: 3 of 4
    20-13354                Opinion of the Court                         3
    Harris argues on appeal that the district court erred in deny-
    ing his post-judgment motion. We begin by considering whether
    we have appellate jurisdiction to review the district court’s denial
    of Harris’s post-judgment motion. See Sabal Trail Transmission,
    LLC v. 3.921 Acres of Land in Lake Cnty., 
    947 F.3d 1362
    , 1370 (11th
    Cir. 2020) (“[W]e have an obligation to review sua sponte whether
    we have jurisdiction.”). Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure
    3(c)(1)(B), a party must designate in his notice of appeal the judg-
    ment or order being appealed. Fed. R. App. P. 3(c)(1)(B). The judg-
    ment or order designated must be one in existence at the time that
    the notice of appeal is filed, not one that is expected or contem-
    plated at the time. See Bogle v. Orange Cnty. Bd. of Cnty.
    Comm’rs, 
    162 F.3d 653
    , 661 (11th Cir. 1998). We generally lack ju-
    risdiction to review an order issued after the notice of appeal was
    filed, unless the appellant files an additional or amended notice of
    appeal referring to the subsequent order. See 
    id.
     at 660–61. Alt-
    hough we liberally construe the pleadings of pro se litigants, pro se
    litigants still must follow our procedural rules. Albra v. Advan, Inc.,
    
    490 F.3d 826
    , 829 (11th Cir. 2007).
    We lack jurisdiction to review Harris’s challenge to the dis-
    trict court’s denial of his post-judgment motion. Although the no-
    tice of appeal stated that Harris intended to appeal any or all rulings
    on post-judgment motions, he filed the notice before the district
    court entered its order denying his post-judgment motion. Because
    Harris did not file an additional or amended notice after the district
    USCA11 Case: 20-13354         Date Filed: 12/10/2021    Page: 4 of 4
    4                      Opinion of the Court                 20-13354
    court entered the order denying his post-judgment motion, we lack
    jurisdiction to review that order. See Bogle, 
    162 F.3d at
    660–61.
    We do have jurisdiction to review the district court’s order
    granting summary judgment. But, in his appellate brief, Harris
    raised no argument challenging the district court’s summary judg-
    ment order. We thus conclude that Harris abandoned any chal-
    lenge to the summary judgment order. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Flo-
    ridian Ins. Co., 
    739 F.3d 678
    , 681 (11th Cir. 2014) (“[A]n appellant
    abandons a claim when he either makes only passing references to
    it or raises it in a perfunctory manner without supporting argu-
    ments and authority.”).
    For the reasons set forth above, we affirm the district court’s
    summary judgment and dismiss that portion of Harris’s appeal
    challenging the denial of his post-judgment motion.
    AFFIRMED IN PART AND DISMISSED IN PART.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 20-13354

Filed Date: 12/10/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 12/10/2021