Muhammad v Oliver
Filing
15
MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge Henry E. Hudson on 9/4/14. Copy sent: Yes(tdai, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Richmond Division
ABDUL-AZIZ RASHID
MUHAMMAD,
Petitioner,
Civil Action No. 3:14CV72-HEH
JOHN OLIVER,
Respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
(Denying Rule 60(b) Motion)
By Memorandum Opinion and Order entered on March 14, 2014, the Court
dismissed for want ofjurisdiction a 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition submitted by Abdul-Aziz
Rashid Muhammad. On May 6, 2014, the Court received a Motion for Relief Pursuant to
Rule 60(b)(4) ("Rule 60(b) Motion")1 from Muhammad wherein he argues that the March
14, 2014 Memorandum Opinion and Order is void and "should be vacated without
prejudice" because he filed a motion to withdraw prior to the entry of the Memorandum
Opinion and Order. (Rule 60(b) Mot. 2, ECF No. 14 (emphasis omitted).)
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) provides, in pertinent part:
(b) Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding. On motion and just
terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment,
order, or proceeding for the following reasons:
(4) the judgment is void ....
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b).
A party seeking relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) must make a
threshold showing of "'timeliness, a meritorious defense, a lack of unfair prejudice to the
opposing party, and exceptional circumstances.'" Dowell v. State Farm Fire & Cas.
Auto. Ins. Co., 993 F.2d 46, 48 (4th Cir. 1993) (quoting Werner v. Carbo, 731 F.2d 204,
207 (4th Cir. 1984)). After a party satisfies this threshold showing, "he then must satisfy
one of the six specific sections of Rule 60(b)." Id. (citing Werner, 731 F.2d at 207).
While Muhammad has timely filed his Rule 60(b) Motion, nevertheless, relief
under Rule 60(b) is an "extraordinary" remedy "and is only to be invoked upon a
showing of exceptional circumstances." Compton v. Alton S.S. Co., Inc., 608 F.2d 96,
102 (4th Cir. 1979) (citations omitted). Muhammad fails to demonstrate any such
exceptional circumstances that would warrant vacating the prior dismissal of his § 2241
motion.
Even if Muhammad met the threshold requirements for bringing a Rule 60(b)
Motion, he fails to demonstrate that he is entitled to relief under Rule 60(b)(4). A
judgment is "void" for the purposes of Rule 60(b) "only if the court rendering the
decision lacked personal or subject matter jurisdiction or acted in a manner inconsistent
with due process of law." Wendt v. Leonard, 431 F.3d 410, 412 (4th Cir. 2005) (citing
Eberhardtv. Integrated Design & Constr., Inc., 167 F.3d 861, 871 (4th Cir. 1999)).
Courts "narrowly construe the concept of a 'void' order under Rule 60(b)(4) precisely
because of the threat to the finality of judgments
" Id. (citation omitted).
Muhammad argues that the Court should have dismissed the action without
prejudice because he filed his motion for voluntary dismissal "[o]n or about February
11th, 2014" which was "more than a month before the [Court's] Order." (Rule 60(b)
Mot. 1.) The Court received the motion for voluntary dismissal on March 20,2014,
which Muhammad mailed from Petersburg, Virginia andhad a postmark of March 19,
2014. (ECF No. 13, at 3.) Muhammad fails to provide any argument suggesting that the
Court lacked jurisdiction oracted in a manner inconsistent with due processjn dismissing
his § 2241 petition for want ofjurisdiction prior to receiving his motion to voluntarily
dismiss the action. Thus, Muhammad fails to demonstrate that the Court's dismissal of
his § 2241 motion was "void" within the meaning of Rule 60(b)(4).
Accordingly, Muhammad's Rule 60(b) Motion (ECF No. 14) will be denied.
An appropriate Final Order will follow.
W^
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HENRY E. HUDSON
DateitSgj, y go/y
Richmond, Virginia
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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