David Firewalker-Fields v. Chadwick Dotson ( 2023 )


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  • USCA4 Appeal: 23-6086      Doc: 18         Filed: 12/04/2023    Pg: 1 of 3
    UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 23-6086
    DAVID N. FIREWALKER-FIELDS,
    Plaintiff - Appellant,
    v.
    CHADWICK DOTSON, Director of Virginia Department of Corrections; MR.
    DAVID NEWCOMER, Warden, Augusta Corr. Center,
    Defendants - Appellees.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at
    Roanoke. Michael F. Urbanski, Chief District Judge. (7:22-cv-00596-MFU-JCH)
    Submitted: November 7, 2023                                  Decided: December 4, 2023
    Before GREGORY, THACKER, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges.
    Dismissed and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Judge Richardson dissented.
    David Nighthorse Firewalker-Fields, Appellant Pro Se.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    USCA4 Appeal: 23-6086       Doc: 18          Filed: 12/04/2023      Pg: 2 of 3
    PER CURIAM:
    David N. Firewalker-Fields seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing
    without prejudice his 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
     complaint. This court may exercise jurisdiction
    only over final orders, 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    , and certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 
    28 U.S.C. § 1292
    ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 
    337 U.S. 541
    ,
    545-46 (1949). “Ordinarily, a district court order is not final until it has resolved all claims
    as to all parties.” Porter v. Zook, 
    803 F.3d 694
    , 696 (4th Cir. 2015) (internal quotation
    marks omitted).
    Our review of the record reveals that the district court did not adjudicate all of the
    claims alleged in Firewalker-Fields’ complaint. 
    Id. at 696-97
    . Specifically, the district
    court never resolved Firewalker-Fields’ claim that defendant Harold W. Clarke—who has
    since been replaced by Chadwick Dotson—had violated his Fifth Amendment rights by
    refusing to allow him to transfer money in his inmate trust account to a bank. * We thus
    conclude that the order Firewalker-Fields seeks to appeal is neither a final order nor an
    appealable interlocutory or collateral order. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack
    *
    Firewalker-Fields’ complaint alleged a Fifth Amendment claim with two parts:
    (1) Clarke unlawfully retained the interest earned on funds in Firewalker-Fields’ inmate
    trust account, and (2) Clarke unlawfully refused Firewalker-Fields’ request to transfer the
    money in his inmate trust account to a bank. The district court considered the first part but
    not the second part. Although Firewalker-Fields’ complaint dedicated much more attention
    to the first part, the complaint clearly alleged the second part. Firewalker-Fields even
    attached prison grievances to his complaint concerning his inability to transfer the money
    in his inmate trust account to a bank.
    2
    USCA4 Appeal: 23-6086      Doc: 18         Filed: 12/04/2023     Pg: 3 of 3
    of jurisdiction and remand to the district court for consideration of the unresolved claim.
    
    Id. at 699
    .
    We also deny as moot Firewalker-Fields’ motion for a preliminary injunction and
    deny Firewalker-Fields’ petition for an initial hearing en banc. 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 AND REMANDED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 23-6086

Filed Date: 12/4/2023

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 12/5/2023