Brandon Lavergne v. Mac Sanford , 570 F. App'x 385 ( 2014 )

Case: 14-30231 Document: 00512650523 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/03/2014
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-30231
Summary Calendar
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 3, 2014
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
BRANDON SCOTT LAVERGNE,
Plaintiff−Appellant,
versus
MAC SANFORD; FRONTLINE FIELD SERVICES,
Defendants−Appellees.
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 6:13-CV-2123
Before JOLLY, SMITH, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Brandon Lavergne, an inmate serving two life sentences, sued, pro se, a
* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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: 14-30231 Document: 00512650523 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/03/2014
No. 14-30231
private investigation firm and its president for allegedly making false accusa-
tions amounting to libel and slander and constitutional violations. The matter
was referred to the magistrate judge (“MJ”), who issued a thorough and con-
vincing Report and Recommendation, which the district court adopted, recom-
mending that the action be dismissed for various reasons, including lack of
subject-matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim.
We agree with the MJ. There is no federal jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 against non-state actors. The claim based on the allegedly false state-
ments is barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). There is no diver-
sity of citizenship for the state-law claims because the amount-in-controversy
requirement is not met.
The judgment of dismissal is AFFIRMED, essentially for the reasons
stated by the MJ and accepted by the district court.
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