Gerald Whiting v. HAROLD W. CLARK, Director of VA Department of Corrections

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 16-6003
GERALD WHITING,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
HAROLD W. CLARK, Director of VA Department of Corrections,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Senior
District Judge. (1:15-cv-00621-CMH-TCB)
Submitted: March 17, 2016 Decided: March 22, 2016
Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Gerald Whiting, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

-- 1 of 2 --

2
PER CURIAM:
Gerald Whiting seeks to appeal the district court’s order
dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition without
prejudice for failing to comply with a court order. This court
may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291 (2012), and certain interlocutory and collateral orders,
28 U.S.C. § 1292 (2012); Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v.
Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-46 (1949). The
order Whiting seeks to appeal is neither a final order nor an
appealable interlocutory or collateral order. See Domino Sugar
Corp. v. Sugar Workers Local Union 392, 10 F.3d 1064, 1066-67
(4th Cir. 1993). Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of
jurisdiction and remand the case to the district court with
instructions to allow Whiting to file an amended petition. See
Goode v. Cent. Va. Legal Aid Soc’y, Inc., 807 F.3d 619, 630 (4th
Cir. 2015). 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 AND REMANDED

-- 2 of 2 --