Jerome Garcia v. Kendra Dove; John Hopkins, Iii

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 25-2183
JEROME GARCIA,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
KENDRA DOVE; JOHN HOPKINS, III,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
Columbia. Shiva Vafai Hodges, Magistrate Judge. (3:25-cv-06624-MGL)
Submitted: January 22, 2026 Decided: January 28, 2026
Before AGEE, RICHARDSON, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jerome Garcia, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Jerome Garcia seeks to appeal the magistrate judge’s report recommending that the
district court dismiss Garcia’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint as frivolous under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). 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). The
magistrate judge’s report and recommendation is neither a final order nor an appealable
interlocutory or collateral order. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of
jurisdiction.* 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
* Although the district court accepted the magistrate judge’s recommendation before
we considered this appeal, the doctrine of cumulative finality does not cure the
jurisdictional defect. See Houck v. LifeStore Bank, 41 F.4th 266, 271 (4th Cir. 2022)
(explaining that cumulative finality applies only when district court could have certified
order for immediate appeal under Rule 54(b)).

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