Thomas v. Moore ( 2023 )

Case: 23-30279 Document: 00516903434 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/21/2023
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
____________ FILED
September 21, 2023
No. 23-30279
Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
____________
Ronny Lee Thomas,
Plaintiff—Appellant,
versus
Tony R. Moore, Sheriff Officer Lieutenant; Steve Prator, Sheriff
Department Chief,
Defendants—Appellees.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 5:22-CV-6232
______________________________
Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Ronny Lee Thomas appeals the district court’s dismissal with
prejudice of his pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action as frivolous and malicious
under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). We review the district court’s dismissal
_____________________
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-30279 Document: 00516903434 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/21/2023
No. 23-30279
under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) for an abuse of discretion. See Shakouri v. Davis,
923 F.3d 407, 410 (5th Cir. 2019).
An action may be dismissed as frivolous or malicious if it duplicates
claims raised by the same plaintiff in previous or pending litigation. See
Pittman v. Moore, 980 F.2d 994, 994-95 (5th Cir. 1993); Wilson v. Lynaugh,
878 F.2d 846, 850 (5th Cir. 1989); Bailey v. Johnson, 846 F.2d 1019, 1021 (5th
Cir. 1988). The district court noted that Thomas’s complaint was
duplicative of a federal action he had previously filed, which had been
dismissed with prejudice. Thomas has not shown that the district court
abused its discretion in dismissing his complaint on that basis. See Shakouri,
923 F.3d at 410; Bailey, 846 F.2d at 1021.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
2