Jacqueline R. Humphries v. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, MARYLAND, Department of Social Services & Foster Care Services

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 21-1880
JACQUELINE R. HUMPHRIES,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, MARYLAND, Department of Social Services &
Foster Care Services; GLORIA BROWN, DSS Director; MARSHALL CUPE,
Bureau Chief for Foster Care; DARQUITA FLETCHER, Bureau Chief; STEPHEN
LIGGETT-CREEL, DSS; CARMEN PHELPS, DSS Supervisor; DANIELLE
CLARKE, CPS Investigator; VALERIE HEATH, CPS Investigator; ALYSON
BECKER, Forensic Specialist; ALEXIS BOOKER, DSS Supervisor; ROBIN
ADAMS, DSS Supervisor; THOMAS WEIMER, DSS Supervisor; RUBY
NELSON, CAC Director; ANGELA ALSOBROOKS, County Executive; KAREN
L. SMITH, Esq., Prince George’s County Law Offices; RHONDA L. WEAVER,
Esq., PG County Attorney; KENDAL WYLIE OUGH, Psy.D, Morgan Holdings
Group, LLC; DR. MONICA GOLDSON, CEO Prince George’s County Board of
Education; LYNETTE WALKER, Principal, Bradbury Heights Elementary School;
MONICA CAMPBELL, Owner, SKC Early Education Centers; SHEILA W. LONG,
Esq., PG County; PAMELA C. ORTIZ, Director, Prince George’s County Circuit
Court; CORLIS ESTREP, Admin Asst. (Individual Capacity); DOMINIQUE
DAVIS; RONALD F. DAVIS; JERRY MILNER, Associate Commissioner; TINA
NAUGLER, Regional Program Manager; SANDRA BARNES, DHS Attorney,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
George Jarrod Hazel, District Judge. (8:20-cv-02819-GJH)
Submitted: June 28, 2022 Decided: August 9, 2022

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Before WYNN and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jacqueline R. Humphries, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Jacqueline Humphries seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing without
prejudice her amended civil complaint. In civil cases, parties have 30 days after the entry
of the district court’s final judgment or order to note an appeal, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A),
unless the district court extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5) or reopens
the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). “[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal
in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007).
The district court entered its order on June 9, 2021. Humphries filed her notice of
appeal more than two months later, on August 11, 2021. However, in her notice of appeal,
Humphries asserted that she did not receive notice of the court’s order until “days” before
filing her notice. Based on this claim, we construe Humphries’ notice of appeal as a Rule
4(a)(6) motion to reopen the appeal period, and we remand to the district court for the
limited purpose of determining whether reopening the appeal period is warranted. The
record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court for further consideration.
REMANDED

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