David Lamarr Love v. Inspector Michael Morales, et al

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 23-11089
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
DAVID LAMARR LOVE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
ACTING SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY,
et al.,
Defendants,
INSPECTOR MICHAEL MORALES,
Federal Protective Service,
JOHN DOE,
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2 Opinion of the Court 23-11089
Security Officer, Federal Protective Service,
Defendants-Appellees.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Georgia
D.C. Docket No. 4:20-cv-00083-RSB-CLR
____________________
Before N EWSOM, BRASHER , and A NDERSON , Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
David Love, a pro se litigant and member of the Yamassee
Indian Tribe of Seminoles in South Carolina, appeals the dismissal
of his amended complaint for failure to state a claim. He sued Mi-
chael Morales, a federal agent, for questioning whether Love’s
tribal ID was fraudulent and seizing it pending an investigation.
The government moves for summary affirmance.
Summary disposition is appropriate either where time is of
the essence, such as “situations where important public policy is-
sues are involved or those where rights delayed are rights denied,”
or where “the position of one of the parties is clearly right as a mat-
ter of law so that there can be no substantial question as to the
out-come of the case, or where, as is more frequently the case, the
appeal is frivolous.” Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158,
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23-11089 Opinion of the Court 3
1161-62 (5th Cir. 1969). A motion for summary affirmance post-
pones the due date for the filing of any remaining brief until we
rule on the motion. 11th Cir. R. 31-1(c).
We review a district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss de
novo, accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true, and
construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Boyd v.
Warden, Holman Corr. Facility, 856 F.3d 853, 863-64 (11th Cir. 2017).
To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint must contain suffi-
cient factual allegations to state a claim for relief that is plausible
on its face. Id.
An appellant abandons a claim when he makes only passing
references to it or raises it in a perfunctory manner without sup-
porting arguments and authority. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridan
Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 681 (11th Cir. 2014). A party seeking to raise
a claim or issue on appeal must plainly and prominently do so by,
for example, devoting a discrete, substantial portion of his argu-
mentation to that issue. Id. “[S]imply stating that an issue exists,
without further argument or discussion, constitutes abandonment
of that issue and precludes our considering the issue on appeal.”
Singh v. United States, 561 F.3d 1275, 1278 (11th Cir. 2009).
In applying the preceding principles, we will hold pro se
pleadings to a less stringent standard and will liberally construe
them. Campbell v. Air Jam., Ltd., 760 F.3d 1165, 1168 (11th Cir. 2014).
But we will not “serve as de facto counsel for a party [or] rewrite an
otherwise deficient pleading in order to sustain an action.” Id. at
1168-69. In addition, all litigants in federal court—pro se or
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4 Opinion of the Court 23-11089
counseled—are required to comply with the applicable procedural
rules. Albra v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir. 2007). Gen-
erally, we do not consider arguments raised for the first time on
appeal in a civil case. Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co., 385
F.3d 1324, 1331 (11th Cir. 2004). We have permitted issues to be
raised for the first time on appeal under five circumstances: (1) the
issue involves a pure question of law and refusal to consider it
would result in a miscarriage of justice; (2) the appellant had no
opportunity to raise his objection to an order at the district court
level; (3) the interest of substantial justice is at stake; (4) where res-
olution is beyond any doubt; and (5) the issue presents significant
questions of general impact or great public concern. Id. at 1332. We
have also stated that we review an argument raised for the first
time on appeal for plain error. See Ruiz v. Wing, 991 F.3d 1130, 1141
(11th Cir. 2021).
Summary affirmance is warranted here because Love has
abandoned on appeal any challenge to the district court’s dismissal
of his amended complaint. In his initial brief on appeal, Love made
only passing reference to the district court’s reasons for dismissing
his complaint. Although he cites 18 U.S.C. § 1983 as providing a
cause of action against Officer Morales, that statute provides a
cause of action against state officers, not federal officers. He also
cites the rule of law from Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed.
Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 397 (1971), which recognizes a
cause of action against federal officers for violations of the Fourth
Amendment. But he makes no argument connecting his com-
plaints with Bivens or arguing that Bivens should be extended to the
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23-11089 Opinion of the Court 5
facts of his case. See Egbert v. Boule, 142 S. Ct. 1793, 1802 (2022)(ques-
tioning whether Bivens may be extended to new circumstances).
He also fails to provide any reasoning or argument as to how Mo-
rales’s alleged actions violated any of his constitutional rights.
Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 681.
Due to his failure to challenge the court’s reasoning, there is
no substantial question about the outcome of the appeal, and sum-
mary affirmance is appropriate. See Groendyke Transp., Inc., 406 F.2d
at 1162.
Accordingly, we GRANT the government’s motion for
summary affirmance and AFFIRM the district court.
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