4th Cir.

DARIUSH A. RICE v. MERITUS MEDICAL CENTER; MAULIK JOSHI

June 29, 2026 ·25-2024 ·Per Curiam · By Aisha Johnson

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a civil rights complaint filed by a pro se appellant. The appellate court found that the appellant failed to demonstrate any reversible error in his informal brief.

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Background

Dariush A. Rice, proceeding pro se, appealed the district court’s order granting defendants’ motions to dismiss his civil complaint. The complaint was filed under Section nineteen hundred eighty-three, Section nineteen hundred eighty-one, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court also denied Rice’s motions to alter or amend the judgment and for relief from a judgment or order.

The court’s reasoning

The court confined its review to the issues raised in the appellant’s informal brief, noting that under Fourth Circuit rules, review is limited to issues preserved in that brief. After reviewing the record, the court concluded that Rice failed to demonstrate any reversible error in his informal brief.

Rice has failed to demonstrate any reversible error in his informal brief.

Rice v. Meritus Med. Ctr., No. 1:24-cv-01208-BAH (D. Md. filed June twenty-six, two thousand twenty-five & entered June twenty-seven, two thousand twenty-five; Aug. eleven, two thousand twenty-five)

What it means going forward

The district court’s dismissal of the civil rights claims stands, and the appellant’s motions to alter or amend the judgment remain denied.