Todd W. Short v. MICHAEL BOYD, FBI Special Agent, in his individual capacity

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 24-1150
TODD W. SHORT,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
MICHAEL BOYD, FBI Special Agent, in his individual capacity; JOHN DOES, FBI
Special Agents 1-6, in their individual capacities,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at
Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, Chief District Judge. (1:23-cv-00207-MR-WCM)
Submitted: May 30, 2024 Decided: June 4, 2024
Before GREGORY and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Todd W. Short, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Todd W. Short seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying his motion for a
temporary restraining order. This court may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders,
28 U.S.C. § 1291, and certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1292; Fed.
R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-46 (1949).
Absent exceptional circumstances, the denial of a motion for a temporary restraining order
is considered interlocutory and is not appealable. See Off. of Pers. Mgmt. v. Am. Fed’n of
Gov’t Emps., 473 U.S. 1301, 1303-04 (1985). Exceptional circumstances exist where the
denial effectively decides the merits of the case. See Virginia v. Tenneco, Inc., 538 F.2d
1026, 1029-30 (4th Cir. 1976). Upon a review of the record, we conclude that no such
exceptional circumstances are present in this case.
Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Additionally, we deny
Short’s motion for preparation of a transcript at government expense and we deny as moot
his motion to expedite. 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

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