James Paul Aery v. Ernie Beitel; Calandra Allen; Summit Food Service, LLC

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 24-2924
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James Paul Aery
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
Ernie Beitel; Calandra Allen; Summit Food Service, LLC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of Minnesota
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Submitted: May 7, 2025
Filed: May 12, 2025
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.

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James Aery appeals following the district court’s1 dismissal of some of his pro
se civil rights claims, and adverse grant of summary judgment as to his remaining
claims.
After careful review of the record and the parties’ arguments on appeal, we
conclude that the district court properly dismissed Aery’s official-capacity claims, see
Kelly v. City of Omaha, 813 F.3d 1070, 1075 (8th Cir. 2016) (reviewing de novo Fed.
R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) dismissal for failure to state claim); and that summary judgment
was proper as to his remaining claims, see Stearns v. Inmate Servs. Corp., 957 F.3d
902, 906 (8th Cir. 2020) (reviewing grant of summary judgment de novo). Finally,
we discern no abuse of discretion in the denial of Aery’s motions to compel, for
sanctions, and for counsel. See Vallejo v. Amgen, Inc., 903 F.3d 733, 742 (8th Cir.
2018) (reviewing discovery and sanctions rulings for abuse of discretion); see also
Ward v. Smith, 721 F.3d 940, 942 (8th Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (reviewing denial of
motion for appointment of counsel for abuse of discretion).
Accordingly, we affirm.
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1The Honorable Katherine M. Menendez, United States District Judge for the
District of Minnesota, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable
Douglas L. Micko, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota.
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