Filed: Jul. 11, 2005
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-2515 CECILE M. LESCS; RICHARD A. LAST, Deceased by Cecile M. Lescs next of kin and power of attorney; ESTATE OF RICHARD A. LAST, BY CECILE N. LESCS, EXECUTRIX, Plaintiffs - Appellants, versus MARTINSBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT; WAYNE CLEVELAND; THEODORE ANDERSON; GEORGE SMARTWOOD; GLENN MACHER; CITY OF MARTINSBURG, Incorporated; MARK S. BALDWIN; GEORGE KAROS; MAX PARKINSON; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE; WILLIAM WILMOTH; JAMES WR
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-2515 CECILE M. LESCS; RICHARD A. LAST, Deceased by Cecile M. Lescs next of kin and power of attorney; ESTATE OF RICHARD A. LAST, BY CECILE N. LESCS, EXECUTRIX, Plaintiffs - Appellants, versus MARTINSBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT; WAYNE CLEVELAND; THEODORE ANDERSON; GEORGE SMARTWOOD; GLENN MACHER; CITY OF MARTINSBURG, Incorporated; MARK S. BALDWIN; GEORGE KAROS; MAX PARKINSON; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE; WILLIAM WILMOTH; JAMES WRI..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-2515
CECILE M. LESCS; RICHARD A. LAST, Deceased by
Cecile M. Lescs next of kin and power of
attorney; ESTATE OF RICHARD A. LAST, BY
CECILE N. LESCS, EXECUTRIX,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
versus
MARTINSBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT; WAYNE
CLEVELAND; THEODORE ANDERSON; GEORGE
SMARTWOOD; GLENN MACHER; CITY OF MARTINSBURG,
Incorporated; MARK S. BALDWIN; GEORGE KAROS;
MAX PARKINSON; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE;
WILLIAM WILMOTH; JAMES WRIGHT; JANET RENO;
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE; JOHN
MORAN; RAYMOND WEST; LOUIS FREEH; FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION; WELLS MORRISON;
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION; HERSHEL GOBER, Acting
Secretary, Veterans Affairs; TOGO D. WEST,
Secretary Veterans Affairs; MARTINSBURG
MEDICAL CENTER; GEORGE MOORE, Director;
RICHARD PELL; THE POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE
UNITED STATES; HENRRI JAMIOY QUISTIAL; JANE
DOE; JOHN O'NEILL; DALE WATSON; BOB BLITZER;
MARK T. CALLOWAY; WILLIAM J. CLINTON; JOHN
ASHCROFT, United States Attorney General,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. W. Craig Broadwater,
District Judge. (CA-03-4-3)
Submitted: May 27, 2005 Decided: July 11, 2005
Before WILKINSON, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Cecile M. Lescs, Appellant Pro Se. Tracey Brown Eberling, STEPTOE
& JOHNSON, Martinsburg, West Virginia; Daniel W. Dickinson, Jr.,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia;
Beverly M. Russell, Kathleen M. Frye, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY, Washington, D.C., for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
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PER CURIAM:
Cecile M. Lescs appeals the district court’s order
dismissing her civil action alleging claims under the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), the Privacy Act,
the Freedom of Information Act, and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named
Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics,
403 U.S. 388 (1971). Lescs
asserts the district court erred by granting dismissal or summary
judgment to all Defendants without granting her motion for class
action certification, allowing her to proceed to discovery, or
“hearing evidence about the TIPS Program.” Because our review of
the record convinces us there is no reversible error, we affirm.
Lescs, proceeding pro se, sought certification for the
class of all plaintiffs in court cases against Dow Chemical Company
who were harassed by federal and state action in violation of RICO.
A refusal to certify a class is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
Stott v. Haworth,
916 F.2d 134, 139 (4th Cir. 1990). Moreover, it
is plain error to certify a class when a pro se litigant seeks to
represent the class. Oxendine v. Williams,
509 F.2d 1405, 1407
(4th Cir. 1975). We find the district court did not abuse its
discretion by failing to certify the class.
We likewise find the district court did not abuse its
discretion by refusing to allow discovery, see Harrods Ltd. v.
Sixty Internet Domain Names,
302 F.3d 214, 245-46 (4th Cir. 2002),
or otherwise err by dismissing this action prior to discovery or
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trial. The district court was required to rule on Defendants’
dispositive motion to dismiss or for summary judgment raising
sovereign and qualified immunity issues prior to allowing any
discovery. See Harlow v. Fitzgerald,
457 U.S. 800, 817-18 (1982).
Moreover, we find Defendants’ motion was properly granted prior to
trial. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
477 U.S. 242, 251
(1986).
Accordingly, we deny the motion of the Martinsburg
Defendants to dismiss them as parties as moot and affirm the
judgment of the district court. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in
the materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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