Background
Timothy Jacob Barr, proceeding pro se, filed a third amended complaint against fourteen defendants, including police officers and a sheriff. He asserted nine claims under Section nineteen hundred eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code, alleging violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. A magistrate judge screened the complaint and recommended dismissing Counts four through nine for failure to state a claim. The district court adopted this recommendation and dismissed those six claims, leaving Counts one through three pending.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that it lacks jurisdiction because the March twenty-seventh order was not final and appealable. The order did not end the litigation on the merits, and the district court did not certify it for immediate review under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure fifty-four point B. The court further noted that the order did not qualify for the collateral order doctrine because it did not resolve an issue completely separate from the merits and was effectively reviewable on appeal from the final judgment.
What it means going forward
The dismissal means the plaintiff must wait for a final judgment on all claims in the district court before appealing. The underlying civil rights claims that were not dismissed remain active in the lower court.