Russell J. Berger v. Correctional Medical

United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
___________
No. 01-1125
___________
Russell J. Berger, *
*
Appellant, *
* Appeal from the United States
v. * District Court for the Eastern
* District of Arkansas.
Correctional Medical Services, *
(agent for service is David Morgan), * [UNPUBLISHED]
Cummins Unit, Arkansas Department *
of Correction; John Doe, Cummins *
Unit, Arkansas Department of *
Correction; Everett, Nurse, Cummins *
Unit, Arkansas Department of *
Correction; Vera Reynolds, Clerk of *
Lincoln County Circuit Court, *
*
Appellees. *
___________
Submitted: August 23, 2001
Filed: August 28, 2001
___________
Before HANSEN, FAGG, and BEAM, Circuit Judges.
___________
PER CURIAM.
Prisoner Russell Berger appeals the district court’s1 judgment dismissing his 42
U.S.C. § 1983 action in which he had claimed medical negligence and denial of access
to the courts. Upon a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree
with the district court that dismissal of the access-to-courts claim was proper based on
absolute quasi-judicial immunity, see Martin v. Hendren, 127 F.3d 720, 721 (8th Cir.
1997), and failure to state a constitutional violation. The district court also properly
refused to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over the pendent negligence claim,
which it dismissed without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3). So that Berger may
pursue whatever state law claims he might have against Vera Reynolds--against whom
he asserted the denial-of-access claim for allegedly refusing to file certain papers--we
modify Reynolds’s dismissal to be without prejudice also.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court as modified. See 8th
Cir. R. 47B.
A true copy.
Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
1
The Honorable William R. Wilson, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Arkansas.
2