James Reid v. Unknown ( 2020 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-7294
JAMES LAMONT REID,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
UNKNOWN,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Richmond. David J. Novak, District Judge. (3:20-cv-00450-DJN-RCY)
Submitted: November 19, 2020 Decided: November 24, 2020
Before WILKINSON, KING, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James Lamont Reid, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
James Lamont Reid, a Virginia inmate, appeals the district court’s order dismissing
without prejudice his civil action for failure to submit a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint within
the allotted time. Because the district court’s “grounds [for] dismissal made clear that no
amendment [to the complaint] could cure the defects in [Reid’s] case,” we have jurisdiction
over this appeal. Domino Sugar Corp. v. Sugar Workers Local Union 392, 10 F.3d 1064,
1067 (4th Cir. 1993) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). While this appeal
was pending, the district court reinstated the action, albeit under a new case number, after
Reid returned a completed § 1983 complaint. Because the district court already has
accorded Reid the only relief he could obtain by way of this appeal, we dismiss the appeal
as moot. See CVLR Performance Horses, Inc. v. Wynne, 792 F.3d 469, 474 (4th Cir. 2015)
(“Litigation may become moot during the pendency of an appeal when an intervening event
makes it impossible for the court to grant effective relief to the prevailing party.”). We
further deny Reid’s motion for the appointment of counsel. 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
2