Bela Animal Legal Defense v. City of Des Moines

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 21-3337
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Bela Animal Legal Defense and Rescue; Heather Hildreth; Michael Kurt Fahrney;
Jordan Witbracht,
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
City of Des Moines; Jeffrey Lester; James Butler; Katharine Massier; Scott
Sanders; Des Moines City Council; Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc.; Josh
Colvin; Tina Updegrove; Jason M. Casini; Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C.; Jeremy Whitaker,
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees.
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Central
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Submitted: May 9, 2023
Filed: May 18, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before COLLOTON, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
In this civil action removed from state court, plaintiffs appeal the district
court’s1 denial of their motion to remand to state court and subsequent dismissal of
the action. On careful de novo review, we conclude that the denial of the motion to
remand was appropriate for the reasons stated by the district court.
We reject plaintiffs’ arguments that the district court erroneously relied on state
court records from their prior cases without converting the motion to dismiss into one
for summary judgment. See Roe v. Nebraska, 861 F.3d 785, 788 (8th Cir. 2017); In
re Syntax Corp. Sec. Litig., 95 F.3d 922, 926 (8th Cir. 1996). We also conclude that
there is no merit to the suggestion that the district court should have recused itself sua
sponte or that there was error in failing to address conclusory allegations of judicial
bias. See United States v. Rubashkin, 655 F.3d 849, 858 (8th Cir. 2011).
Accordingly, we deny plaintiffs’ appellate motion, and we affirm the judgment. See
8th Cir. R. 47B.
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1
The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa.
-2-