Summary
In Rylee v. United States Bureau of Prisons, 2009 WL 2917820 (4th Cir. Sept. 14, 2009), a federal inmate filed a Bivens claim, alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical need for cataract surgery.
Summary of this case from Dupuis v. CaskeyOpinion
No. 09-6501.
Submitted: September 10, 2009.
Decided: September 14, 2009.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Anderson. Patrick Michael Duffy, District Judge. (8:08-cv-01643-PMD).
Samuel Wayne Rylee, Appellant Pro Se. Beth Drake, Assistant United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.
Before KING, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
Samuel Wayne Rylee, a federal inmate, appeals the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and granting summary judgment in favor of defendants, dismissing his complaint filed pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical need for cataract surgery. During the pendency of his appeal, Rylee underwent cataract surgery.
The Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to actual cases or controversies. U.S. Const. art. III, § 2; Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 317, 108 S.Ct. 592, 98 L.Ed.2d 686 (1988). The controversy must be present at all stages of review. Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66, 117 S.Ct. 1055, 137 L.Ed.2d 170 (1997). When a case becomes moot after judgment in the district court, the appellate court has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Mellen v. Bunting, 327 F.3d 355, 363-64 (4th Cir. 2003). We find that Rylee's recent cataract surgery renders his complaint moot, mooting as well his appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal as moot. We also deny Rylee's motions for appointment of counsel and motion for fees and costs.
DISMISSED.