Filed: Feb. 11, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-1703 ROBERT LEPELLETIER, JR., Plaintiff - Appellant, v. JOHN M. TRAN, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge; COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Anthony J. Trenga, District Judge. (1:15-cv-00103-AJT-TCB) Submitted: November 30, 2015 Decided: February 11, 2016 Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affi
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-1703 ROBERT LEPELLETIER, JR., Plaintiff - Appellant, v. JOHN M. TRAN, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge; COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Anthony J. Trenga, District Judge. (1:15-cv-00103-AJT-TCB) Submitted: November 30, 2015 Decided: February 11, 2016 Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affir..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-1703
ROBERT LEPELLETIER, JR.,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
JOHN M. TRAN, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge;
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Anthony J. Trenga,
District Judge. (1:15-cv-00103-AJT-TCB)
Submitted: November 30, 2015 Decided: February 11, 2016
Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Robert Lepelletier, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Erin Rose McNeill,
Assistant Attorney General, Liza Shawn Simmons, OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Robert Lepelletier, Jr., appeals the district court’s order
dismissing his civil action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
12(b)(1), (6). We have reviewed the record and conclude that
the district court committed no reversible error in dismissing
Lepelletier’s action.
As the district court properly concluded, Lepelletier’s
claims were effectively a collateral attack on a state court
sanctions ruling, and thus barred by the Rooker-Feldman *
doctrine. See Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp.,
544 U.S. 280, 284 (2005) (describing doctrine); Adkins v.
Rumsfeld,
464 F.3d 456, 464 (4th Cir. 2006) (addressing relevant
considerations); Davani v. Va. Dep’t of Transp.,
434 F.3d 712,
718 (4th Cir. 2006) (same). His claims seeking injunctive
relief against a sitting state court judge for actions taken in
his judicial capacity also were barred by the plain language of
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012). Moreover, insofar as Lepelletier
sought to raise constitutional challenges to ongoing state-court
contempt proceedings related to the sanctions order, we conclude
his claims are the proper subject of abstention under Younger v.
Harris,
401 U.S. 37 (1971). See Sprint Commc’ns, Inc. v.
*
D.C. Court of Appeals v. Feldman,
460 U.S. 462 (1983);
Rooker v. Fid. Tr. Co.,
263 U.S. 413 (1923).
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Jacobs, 134 S. Ct. 584, 588 (2013) (addressing appropriate
grounds for Younger abstention); Juidice v. Vail,
430 U.S. 327,
335 (1977) (abstaining under Younger from adjudicating
challenges to state court contempt proceeding); Moore v. City of
Asheville,
396 F.3d 385, 390 (4th Cir. 2005) (listing factors to
guide abstention).
Lepelletier does not challenge the district court’s
conclusion that he failed to allege a valid basis for mandamus
relief. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b) (limiting appellate review to
issues raised in informal brief). Beyond these claims,
Lepelletier’s action failed to allege any justiciable Article
III controversy.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. We
deny Lepelletier’s motions for judicial notice, for summary
disposition, and for a stay or, alternatively, for
certification. 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.
AFFIRMED
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