Jeffrey Reuter v. John Borbonus , 709 F. App'x 426 ( 2018 )


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  •                United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eighth Circuit
    ___________________________
    No. 17-2108
    ___________________________
    Jeffrey Reuter
    lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant
    v.
    John N. Borbonus; St. Louis County, Missouri; State of Missouri
    lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees
    ____________
    Appeal from United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
    ____________
    Submitted: January 22, 2018
    Filed: January 25, 2018
    [Unpublished]
    ____________
    Before BENTON, MURPHY, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges.
    ____________
    PER CURIAM.
    Jeffrey Reuter appeals following the district court’s1 dismissal of his pro se 42
    U.S.C. § 1983 complaint, in which he named as defendants a state court judge, St.
    Louis County, Missouri, and the State of Missouri.
    Upon careful review, we conclude that the dismissal was proper, as Judge
    Borbonus and the State were immune from suit, and the complaint did not identify an
    unconstitutional County custom or policy. See Mireles v. Waco, 
    502 U.S. 9
    , 11-12
    (1991) (per curiam) (discussing absolute judicial immunity); Monroe v. Ark. State
    Univ., 
    495 F.3d 591
    , 594 (8th Cir. 2007) (Eleventh Amendment bars suits for any
    kind of relief against states); see also Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 
    436 U.S. 658
    ,
    694 (1978) (municipal liability under § 1983 requires constitutional violation
    committed pursuant to official government custom or policy). We find the district
    court also properly denied Reuter’s motion to amend the complaint, and did not abuse
    its discretion in denying his motions for relief under Federal Rule of Civil
    Procedure 59. See Geier v. Mo. Ethics Comm’n, 
    715 F.3d 674
    , 678 (8th Cir. 2013)
    (district court may deny leave to amend complaint if amendment would be futile);
    United States v. Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist., 
    440 F.3d 930
    , 933 (8th Cir. 2006)
    (standard of review for denial of Rule 59(e) motions).
    Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
    ______________________________
    1
    The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the
    Eastern District of Missouri.
    -2-