Filed: Sep. 12, 2005
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS _ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 No. 05-10656 THOMAS K. KAHN Non-Argument Calendar CLERK _ D. C. Docket No. 01-01416-CV-T-17-TBM SOPHIA J. GIBBONS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus REGINA TWIGG, LORETTA SCHWARTZ-NOBEL, RANDOM PUBLISHING OF CANADA, RANDOM PUBLISHING OF NEW YORK, VILLARD BOOKS, COLUMBIA PICTURES, TRI-STAR VIDEO, et al., Defendants-Appellees. _ Appeal from the United States D
Summary: [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS _ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 No. 05-10656 THOMAS K. KAHN Non-Argument Calendar CLERK _ D. C. Docket No. 01-01416-CV-T-17-TBM SOPHIA J. GIBBONS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus REGINA TWIGG, LORETTA SCHWARTZ-NOBEL, RANDOM PUBLISHING OF CANADA, RANDOM PUBLISHING OF NEW YORK, VILLARD BOOKS, COLUMBIA PICTURES, TRI-STAR VIDEO, et al., Defendants-Appellees. _ Appeal from the United States Di..
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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FILED
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
SEPTEMBER 12, 2005
No. 05-10656 THOMAS K. KAHN
Non-Argument Calendar CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 01-01416-CV-T-17-TBM
SOPHIA J. GIBBONS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
REGINA TWIGG,
LORETTA SCHWARTZ-NOBEL,
RANDOM PUBLISHING OF CANADA,
RANDOM PUBLISHING OF NEW YORK,
VILLARD BOOKS,
COLUMBIA PICTURES,
TRI-STAR VIDEO, et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
_________________________
(September 12, 2005)
Before TJOFLAT, HULL and WILSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Sophia J. Gibbons brings this case to us for the third time. In Gibbons v.
Twigg, No. 02-11252 (decided September 30, 2002) (11th Cir. 2002)
(unpublished) (Gibbbons I), we affirmed the district court’s dismissal of her claims
brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and remanded the case for a determination of
whether the district court had diversity jurisdiction over her state law claims.
On remand, Gibbons moved the court to recuse, asserting that it showed bias
and prejudice towards her as a result of “several highly questionable and
inconsistent rulings” entered against her during the course of the proceedings. The
court denied her motion. On June 17, 2003, the court dismissed her state law
claims for lack of diversity jurisdiction, finding that Regina Twigg, like Gibbons,
was a resident of Florida. The court based its decision on affidavits filed by Twigg
in which she indicated, among other things, that she had a Florida driver’s license
until 1999, when she obtained a Georgia license, but that she renewed her Florida
license on June 4, 2002. Gibbons appealed the court’s judgment, and we affirmed.
In Gibbons v. Twigg, No. 03-13618 (decided March 16, 2004) (11th Cir.
2004) (unpublished) (Gibbons II), we affirmed the district court’s decision
dismissing appellant’s state law claims, but instructed the court to correct the
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docket sheet entry to indicate that the dismissal was without prejudice.
On January 19, 2005, Gibbons moved the district court pursuant to Fla. R.
Civ. P. 1.540(b) to set aside the order of dismissal (that was before us in Gibbons
II). Because the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply in federal civil
cases and Gibbons was proceeding pro se, the court treated the motion as having
been filed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(2) and (3). Those Rule 60(b)
provisions authorize the district court to relieve a party from the judgment entered
against it on grounds of newly discovered evidence or fraud and must be invoked
within one year after the judgment is rendered. The court denied Gibbons’s motion
as untimely. Gibbons now appeals, challenging that ruling and the court’s
previous denial of her motion to recuse. We review both rulings for abuse of
discretion.
Because Gibbons filed her motion to set aside the order of dismissal more
than one year after the district court entered its judgment, the motion was untimely
and the court did not abuse its discretion in denying it.
As for the recusal issue, it is obvious that Gibbons could have raised that
issue in her appeal in Gibbons II, but she did not. Therefore, she has abandoned
her claim that the district court should have recused. See
Martin, 289 F.2d at 416-
417 (disregarding argument made by appellant on second appeal when the
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argument could have been asserted in the first appeal); see also United States v.
Fiallo-Jacome,
874 F.2d 1479, 1482 (11th Cir. 1989) (holding that criminal
defendant waived his right to raise issues on his second appeal that could have
been raised during his first appeal).
AFFIRMED.
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