Anderson v. McKie

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-6134
JAMES E. ANDERSON,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
BERNARD MCKIE, Warden; J. C. BROWN, Captain and Disciplinary
Hearing Officer; SAM LATTA; JOINER, Associate Warden; L. BAILEY,
Lieutenant; KEVIN MOORE, Counselor; MARY SIMPSON, Manager; PAUL
DENNIS, Counselor; STEVE WOODWORK, Counselor; M. SHIVERS,
Sergeant; VAUGHN JACKSON, Major,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Greenville. Margaret B. Seymour, District
Judge. (6:07-cv-01129-MBS)
Submitted: March 25, 2010 Decided: April 8, 2010
Before KING, SHEDD, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James E. Anderson, Appellant Pro Se. William Henry Davidson,
II, Matthew Blaine Rosbrugh, DAVIDSON, MORRISON & LINDEMANN, PA,
Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
James E. Anderson appeals the district court’s order
denying his motion to alter or amend, in which Anderson sought
relief from the district court’s order granting summary judgment
to the Defendants in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2006) action. The
district court found that Anderson’s motion was untimely under
Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). Because Anderson filed the motion
outside the ten-day time period of Rule 59(e), * the court should
have construed the motion as filed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
60(b). See In re Burnley, 988 F.2d 1, 2-3 (4th Cir. 1992).
Because Anderson’s motion merely addressed the merits of the
underlying § 1983 action and satisfied none of the criteria for
granting relief under Rule 60(b), we affirm. See Heyman v. M.L.
Mktg. Co., 116 F.3d 91, 94 (4th Cir. 1997); Burnley, 988 F.2d at
3. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
*
In December 2009, Rule 59(e) was amended to extend the
relevant time period to twenty-eight days. Anderson’s motion to
alter or amend was filed in 2008, and the ten-day time period of
former Rule 59(e) applies.
2