Filed: Jan. 31, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 17-7128 DERRELL JOHNSON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. C.T. WOODY, JR., Sheriff, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cv-00708-CMH-JFA) Submitted: January 26, 2018 Decided: January 31, 2018 Before MOTZ, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Derrell Johns
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 17-7128 DERRELL JOHNSON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. C.T. WOODY, JR., Sheriff, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cv-00708-CMH-JFA) Submitted: January 26, 2018 Decided: January 31, 2018 Before MOTZ, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Derrell Johnso..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 17-7128
DERRELL JOHNSON,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
C.T. WOODY, JR., Sheriff,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cv-00708-CMH-JFA)
Submitted: January 26, 2018 Decided: January 31, 2018
Before MOTZ, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Derrell Johnson, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Derrell Johnson appeals the district court’s order dismissing, without prejudice, his
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012) complaint for failure to immediately notify the court of a change
in his address. We review for abuse of discretion a district court’s dismissal pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). See Ballard v. Carlson,
882 F.2d 93, 95-96 (4th Cir. 1989). Our
review of the record reveals that, although the district court’s June 30, 2017, order was
returned without delivery to Johnson, Johnson had provided the court with his correct,
current address, which did not change. * Because the record does not support the district
court’s rationale for dismissal, we conclude that the dismissal constituted an abuse of
discretion. See Scott v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc.,
733 F.3d 105, 112 (4th Cir. 2013)
(noting that “district court abuses its discretion by resting its decision on a clearly
erroneous finding of a material fact” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
Accordingly, we vacate the dismissal order and remand the case to the district
court to allow Johnson another opportunity to comply with the June 30, 2017, order. We
dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
VACATED AND REMANDED
*
The record does not reveal why the order was returned as undeliverable. We note
that the district court had no reason to suspect that the failed delivery was based on the
fortuity of the mail rather than a change of Johnson’s address.
2