Cyril Logar v. West Virginia University Board

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:10-cv-00201-FPS. Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998932996].[12-1133]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-1133

CYRIL M. LOGAR; R. STEPHEN SEARS,
Plaintiffs – Appellants,
v.
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY BOARD OF GOVERNORS, including
members from 2008 through the present, a West Virginia
state board; MARY ROBERTA BRANDT, individually and as
former Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
at West Virginia University and adjunct professor of law;
BEVERLY D. KERR, individually and as Deputy General Counsel
for
West
Virginia
University;
MAJORIE
A.
MCDIARMID,
individually and as Steptoe and Johnson Professor of Law
and Technology and Academic Integrity Officer for West
Virginia University; MICHAEL S. GARRISON, individually and
as former President of West Virginia University; C. PETER
MCGRATH, individually and as former interim President of
West Virginia University; JAMES P. CLEMENTS, individually
and as current President of West Virginia University; E.
JANE MARTIN, individually and as former Provost of West
Virginia University,
Defendants – Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg.
Frederick P. Stamp,
Jr., Senior District Judge. (1:10-cv-00201-FPS)

Submitted:

August 30, 2012

Decided:

Before DAVIS, WYNN, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

September 7, 2012

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas A. Clare, P.C., KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP, Washington, D.C.;
John H. Tinney, Jr., Wesley M. Jarrell, II, THE TINNEY LAW FIRM
PLLC, Charleston, West Virginia; Robert J. Ridge, Ryan P.
Stewart, THORP REED & ARMSTRONG, LLP, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
for Appellants. Stephen M. LaCagnin, Wendy G. Adkins, Seth P.
Hayes, JACKSON KELLY PLLC, Morgantown, West Virginia; Debra H.
Scudiere, KAY CASTO & CHANEY PLLC, Morgantown, West Virginia;
Scott A. Curnutte, Elkins, West Virginia; Robert P. Fitzsimmons,
Robert J. Fitzsimmons, FITZSIMMONS LAW OFFICES, Wheeling, West
Virginia, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
The Appellants, Drs. Cyril M. Logar and R. Stephen
Spears,

appeal

the

district

court’s

orders

granting

summary

judgment in favor of the Appellees on the Appellants’ 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 (2006) claims, and denying reconsideration and leave to
amend the complaint.
The
erred

in

For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Appellants

converting

first

the

argue

Appellees’

that

the

motions

to

district

court

dismiss

into

summary judgment motions because the Appellants had not had a
reasonable

opportunity

to

conduct

discovery.

We

review

a

district court’s conversion of a motion to dismiss to a summary
judgment motion for abuse of discretion.

See Laughlin v. Metro.

Wash. Airports Auth., 149 F.3d 253, 261 (4th Cir. 1998).

Under

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d), if a district court considers matters
outside of the pleadings in ruling on a motion to dismiss under
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), “the motion must be treated as one for
summary judgment under Rule 56.”

Moreover, “[a]ll parties must

be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material
that is pertinent to the motion.”
We

have

held

that

“the

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d).
term

reasonable

opportunity

requires that all parties be given some indication by the court
that it is treating the 12(b)(6) motion as a motion for summary
judgment, with the consequent right in the opposing party to
file counter affidavits or pursue reasonable discovery.”
3

Gay v.

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Wall,

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761

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F.2d

175,

177

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(4th

marks and citations omitted).

Cir.

1985)

(internal

quotation

Here, the district court provided

notice to the parties of its intention to convert the motions,
and allowed the parties an opportunity to submit any additional
information

regarding

the

statute

of

limitations

issue.

We

conclude, therefore, that the district court did not abuse its
discretion

in

converting

the

motions

to

summary

judgment

motions.
The

Appellants

next

argue

that

the

court

erred

in

granting summary judgment in favor of the Appellees and denying
reconsideration.

Specifically, the Appellants take issue with

the court’s application of the legal standards with respect to
determining

that

their

claims

were

applicable statute of limitations.
court’s

order

granting

summary

time-barred

under

the

We review de novo a district
judgment.

Providence

Square

Assocs., L.L.C. v. G.D.F., Inc., 211 F.3d 846, 850 (4th Cir.
2000).

Summary judgment should be granted “if the movant shows

that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that
the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Civ. P. 56(a).

Fed. R.

“[T]here is no issue for trial unless there is

sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to
return a verdict for that party.

If the evidence is merely

colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment”

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is

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proper.

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Anderson

v.

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Liberty

Lobby,

Inc.,

477

U.S.

242,

249-50 (1986) (citations omitted).
Moreover, we review the denial of a Fed. R. Civ. P.
59(e)

motion

standard.”

“under

the

deferential

abuse

of

discretion

Robinson v. Wix Filtration Corp., 599 F.3d 403, 407

(4th Cir. 2010).

To merit relief under Rule 59(e), a movant has

to demonstrate (1) an intervening change in controlling law;
(2) new evidence not available at trial; or (3) that there has
been a clear error of law or a manifest injustice.

Pac. Ins.

Co. v. Am. Nat’l Fire Ins. Co., 148 F.3d 396, 403 (4th Cir.
1998).
To determine the applicable statute of limitations for
a

§ 1983

claim,

a

court

must

look

to

limitations for personal injury torts.
U.S. 384, 387 (2007).

the

state

statute

of

Wallace v. Kato, 549

In this case, the West Virginia statute

of limitations for a personal injury action is two years.
W. Va. Code § 55-2-12 (2009).

See

“[T]he accrual date of a § 1983

action[, however,] is a question of federal law that is not
resolved by reference to state law.”

Wallace, 549 U.S. at 388.

We have carefully considered the relevant legal authorities and
conclude that the district court did not err in determining when
the Appellants’ claims accrued.

We also conclude that the court

did not abuse its discretion in denying the Appellants’ motion
for reconsideration.
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Finally, the Appellants argue that the district court
abused its discretion in denying their post-judgment motion for
leave to amend the complaint to add new claims.

We review a

district court’s denial of leave to file an amended complaint
for abuse of discretion.
(4th

Cir.

2006)

responsive

(en

pleading,

See Laber v. Harvey, 438 F.3d 404, 428

banc).
a

Once

plaintiff

has

a

defendant
only

a

has

limited

filed

a

time

to

amend his complaint as a matter of course; after that, he may
amend his complaint only with leave of the court.
Civ. P. 15(a)(1), (2).
freely

given

15(a)(2).

when

See Fed. R.

The Rules provide that leave should be

justice

so

requires.

Fed.

R.

Civ.

P.

This is so because of “the federal policy in favor of

resolving cases on their merits instead of disposing of them on
technicalities.”

Laber, 438 F.3d at 426 (citation omitted).

Therefore, we have “interpreted Rule 15(a) to provide
that leave to amend a pleading should be denied only when the
amendment would be prejudicial to the opposing party, there has
been bad faith on the part of the moving party, or the amendment
would

have

been

futile.”

citation omitted).

Id.

(internal

quotation

marks

and

Moreover, “a post-judgment motion to amend

is evaluated under the same legal standard as a similar motion
filed

before

omitted).

judgment

was

entered.”

Id.

at

427

(citation

In addition, while a district court must vacate its

judgment pursuant to Rule 59(e) or Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) prior
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granting

a

post-judgment

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motion

for

leave

to

amend

a

complaint, “[a] conclusion that the district court abused its
discretion in denying a motion to amend . . . is sufficient
grounds on which to reverse the district court’s denial of a
Rule 59(e) motion.”

Id. at 427-28 (citations omitted).

Here,

however, we have thoroughly reviewed the record and the relevant
legal

authorities

and

conclude

that

the

district

court’s

decision to deny leave to amend the complaint was not an abuse
of discretion.
Accordingly,
We

dispense

with

oral

we

affirm

argument

the

district

because

the

court’s
facts

orders.

and

legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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