Filed: Sep. 03, 2015
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 1 of 4 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 14-13329 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 5:13-cv-00283-CAR-CHW JERRY GUEST, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, JOHN AND OR JANE DOE, Postmaster Unadilla, GA, Defendants-Appellees, JOHN AND OR JANE DOES, Two unidentified postal employees, Defendants. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the M
Summary: Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 1 of 4 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 14-13329 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 5:13-cv-00283-CAR-CHW JERRY GUEST, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, JOHN AND OR JANE DOE, Postmaster Unadilla, GA, Defendants-Appellees, JOHN AND OR JANE DOES, Two unidentified postal employees, Defendants. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Mi..
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Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 1 of 4
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 14-13329
Non-Argument Calendar
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 5:13-cv-00283-CAR-CHW
JERRY GUEST,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,
JOHN AND OR JANE DOE,
Postmaster Unadilla, GA,
Defendants-Appellees,
JOHN AND OR JANE DOES,
Two unidentified postal employees,
Defendants.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Georgia
________________________
(September 3, 2015)
Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 2 of 4
Before JORDAN, JILL PRYOR and BLACK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Jerry Guest, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s
dismissal of his complaint for failure to state claim. Guest argues (1) the
Postmaster of Unadilla, Georgia denied his constitutional right of access to the
courts; (2) the Postmaster violated his due process rights by falsely accusing him of
making threats, which caused his three-day confinement in involuntary
segregation; and (3) his state law claims are not barred by the federal government’s
sovereign immunity. As Guest is familiar with the facts of his case, we weave
them into the discussion only as necessary. Upon review, we affirm. 1
I. DISCUSSION
A. Access to Courts
The district court did not err in concluding the complaint failed to state a
violation of Guest’s constitutional right of access to the courts. A litigant asserting
a denial-of-access-to-courts claim must prove he has a “colorable underlying claim
for which he seeks relief.” Barbour v. Haley,
471 F.3d 1222, 1226 (11th Cir.
2006). The complaint must identify a nonfrivolous, arguable underlying claim
“described well enough . . . to show that the arguable nature of the underlying
1
We review de novo a district court’s sua sponte dismissal of a complaint for failure to
state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), using the same standards that govern Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissals. Leal v. Ga. Dep’t of Corr.,
254 F.3d 1276, 1278–79
(11th Cir. 2001). We accept the allegations in the complaint as true and construe them in the
light most favorable to the plaintiff. Timson v. Sampson,
518 F.3d 870, 872 (11th Cir. 2008).
2
Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 3 of 4
claim is more than hope.” Cunningham v. Dist. Attorney’s Office for Escambia
Cty.,
592 F.3d 1237, 1271 (11th Cir. 2010) (quotation and internal quotation marks
omitted). Guest has not sufficiently alleged a colorable, nonfrivolous underlying
claim. See
Barbour, 471 F.3d at 1226. The complaint merely says Guest mailed a
motion for reconsideration to the Georgia Court of Appeals and that, had the
motion been timely, it would have been granted. The complaint’s blanket
assertions do not show Guest’s underlying claim was “more than hope.” See
Cunningham, 592 F.3d at 1271 (quotation omitted).
B. Due Process
The district court did not err in concluding the complaint failed to state a
violation of due process arising from Guest’s confinement in involuntary
segregation. Guest’s due process theory requires alleging not only the deprivation
of a liberty interest, but also that such deprivation “impose[d] atypical and
significant hardship” relative “to the ordinary incidents of prison life.” See Sandin
v. Conner,
515 U.S. 472, 483–44 (1995). Guest’s complaint, however, alleges
only that he was placed in involuntary segregation as a result of the alleged
deprivation. Guest’s complaint fails to state a claim because he has not alleged
specific facts showing involuntary segregation at his facility is an “atypical and
significant hardship” in relation to ordinary prison life.
Id. at 484.
C. Federal Tort Claims Act
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Case: 14-13329 Date Filed: 09/03/2015 Page: 4 of 4
The district court did not err in dismissing Guest’s state law claims brought
pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346. The federal
government’s waiver of sovereign immunity though the FTCA is subject to certain
statutory exceptions, Zelaya v. United States,
781 F.3d 1315, 1322 (11th Cir.
2015), one of which is the exception from “[a]ny claim arising out of the loss,
miscarriage, or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter,” 28 U.S.C.
§ 2680(b). Since Guest’s FTCA claims are premised on the Postmaster’s
purported miscarriage of mail, they are barred by the federal government’s
sovereign immunity.
II. CONCLUSION
In light of the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of
Guest’s complaint.
AFFIRMED.
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