Case Explained: Howard Lawrence Ellsworth, III; Theresa Lynn Ellsworth Plaintiffs— v. Allan Marx, VA Police Officer; Michael E. Dvorak, VA Police Officer; Gregory Wilson, VA Police Officer; Darrin W. Tanner VA Police Officer; Maurine Henry, Executive Assistant at the VA; Jason Cave, J.D., Executive Director of the VA; Wendell Jones Network Director for VISN 17; Kendrick Brown, was Acting Executive Medical Director in 2022; United States of America Defendants—

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-06

The Fifth Circuit denied the plaintiffs’ motion to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissed their appeal as frivolous. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a nonfrivolous appellate issue regarding the district court’s dismissal of their claims under *Bivens*, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), and 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). Specifically, the court found that while the plaintiffs argued the district court misapplied res judicata to their First Amendment retaliation claim, they did not meaningfully brief or challenge the district court’s reasoning for dismissing their FTCA claims against the United States, rendering those claims abandoned. Furthermore, the plaintiffs failed to meaningfully address the district court’s analysis concerning the remainder of their claims, which were also deemed abandoned under Fifth Circuit precedent. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 42.2 and applicable case law governing frivolous appeals.

Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.