Michael Pippen v. Antoinette Slaughter ( 2021 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-1618
MICHAEL J. PIPPEN; MAXINE B. PIPPEN,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
ANTOINETTE NICOLE BROWN SLAUGHTER; KATRINA LAVERNE
BROWN HARRISON; EVELYN DELAINE BROWN JONES; MARCIA
LATANZA BROWN; DARRYL TYLER NABORS, a/k/a D. Tyler Nabors; JAMES
R. HARREL; CRUMLEY ROBERTS, LLC; ROBERT D. DOUGLAS, III;
TRUSTEES OF GUILFORD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE; BRENNA
M. RAGGHIANTI; JOHN CRAIG, III; LISA YVONNE JOHNSON-TONKINS;
HAGAN GARRETT, PLLC,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at
Greensboro. Loretta C. Biggs, District Judge. (1:19-cv-00891-LCB-LPA)
Submitted: October 19, 2021 Decided: November 18, 2021
Before WILKINSON, FLOYD, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed in part and affirmed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Michael J. Pippen, Maxine B. Pippen, Appellants Pro Se. Darryl Tyler Nabors,
CRUMLEY ROBERTS, LLP, Greensboro, North Carolina; Richard Wyatt Andrews, II,
Jeffrey Scott Southerland, TUGGLE DUGGINS, PA, Greensboro, North Carolina; Kip D.
Nelson, FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Michael J. Pippen and Maxine B. Pippen appeal the district court’s order granting
Appellees’ motion to dismiss their first amended complaint, denying leave to file a second
amended complaint, and ordering sanctions against them in the form of a prefiling
injunction and payment of Appellees’ attorney’s fees and costs. We dismiss in part and
affirm in part.
Initially, we are obliged to inquire sua sponte into our own jurisdiction, even when
the parties do not dispute it. E.g., Clark v. Cartledge, 829 F.3d 303, 305 (4th Cir. 2016).
Insofar as Appellants seek to appeal the district court’s award of monetary sanctions, we
lack jurisdiction to review the district court’s ruling, as the court has not yet determined
the amount of the sanction. See, e.g., MetLife Life & Annuity Co. of Conn. v. Akpele, 886
F.3d 998, 1008 (11th Cir. 2018) (holding that award of attorney’s fees is not final where
amount of fee has not been quantified); Cooke v. Jackson Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 882 F.3d 630,
632 (7th Cir. 2018) (same); Orenshteyn v. Citrix Sys., Inc., 691 F.3d 1356, 1358-64 (Fed.
Cir. 2012) (holding that decision to impose sanctions generally is not appealable until court
determines and imposes sanction, and collecting cases); Armisted v. State Farm Mut. Auto
Ins. Co., 675 F.3d 989, 993 (6th Cir. 2012) (same). We therefore dismiss this portion of
the appeal.
This jurisdictional defect, however, does not affect our jurisdiction to consider the
remainder of the district court’s order. See Ray Haluch Gravel Co. v. Cent. Pension Fund,
571 U.S. 177, 179 (2014). We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error.
Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. Pippen v. Slaughter,
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No. 1:19-cv-00891-LCB-LPA (M.D.N.C. Apr. 30, 2020). 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.
DISMISSED IN PART,
AFFIRMED IN PART
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