Pakuja Crystal Vang, proceeding pro se, filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina against Valdese Weaver and the United States government. The district court dismissed the entire action with prejudice, characterizing the suit as frivolous and malicious. Vang appealed this dismissal to the Fourth Circuit. On appeal, she submitted an informal brief, which is the standard mechanism for pro se litigants in this circuit to raise issues. However, her brief did not specifically challenge the reasons the district court provided for dismissing her claims.
The court addressed two primary issues. First, it determined that Vang had forfeited her right to appellate review of the dismissal order. Under Fourth Circuit Rule 34(b), review is confined to issues raised in the informal brief. The court cited Jackson v. Lightsey, noting that because Vang's brief did not challenge the district court's reasons for dismissal, she forfeited the argument. Second, the court considered the propriety of the dismissal itself. Even assuming the issue was preserved, the court found no abuse of discretion in dismissing the action as frivolous. However, the court modified the disposition regarding the scope of the dismissal. Citing King v. Rubenstein, the court reasoned that dismissal of a pro se complaint should generally be without prejudice if the district court did not give the plaintiff an opportunity to amend or explain why amendment would be futile. The district court had found futility only regarding claims against Valdese Weaver but did not address the possibility of amendment for claims against other defendants. Therefore, the court modified the order to reflect that dismissal without prejudice applies to all claims except those against Valdese Weaver.
The case is remanded to the district court with instructions to allow Vang to amend her remaining claims against non-government defendants. The dismissal of claims against the United States and Valdese Weaver remains with prejudice as frivolous. This modification ensures that Vang has a fair opportunity to cure defects in her claims against defendants where the district court did not previously address the futility of amendment.
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