Billy Johnson v. Kilolo Kijakazi

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: August 23, 2021
• Docket: 21-1820
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 21-1820 ___________________________

Billy Ray Johnson

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant

v.

Kilolo Kijakazi,1 Acting Commissioner of Social Security Administration

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central ____________

Submitted: August 18, 2021 Filed: August 23, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________

Before SHEPHERD, GRASZ, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

1 Kilolo Kijakazi has been appointed to serve as Acting Commissioner of Social Security, and is substituted as appellee pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c). Billy Johnson appeals the district court’s2 dismissal of his pro se action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Upon de novo review, see ABF Freight Sys., Inc. v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, 645 F.3d 954, 958 (8th Cir. 2011) (standard of review), we affirm. We agree with the district court that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, as Johnson’s action did not appeal a final administrative decision or seek to order the Commissioner to perform a clear, non-discretionary duty, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g), 405(h) (limiting judicial review to Commissioner’s final decision after administrative law judge hearing); 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (mandamus jurisdiction); and as review of the state’s child support orders was precluded by the Rooker-Feldman3 doctrine, see Hageman v. Barton, 817 F.3d 611, 614 (8th Cir. 2016) (under Rooker-Feldman, lower federal courts lack jurisdiction over actions seeking review of, or relief from, state court judgments). We also find no abuse of discretion in the denial of Johnson’s motion for default judgment. See Weitz Co. LLC v. MacKenzie House, LLC, 665 F.3d 970, 977 (8th Cir. 2012) (standard of review).

The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

2 The Honorable James M. Moody, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable Beth Deere, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. 3 See D.C. Ct. of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 482 n.16 (1983); Rooker v. Fid. Tr. Co., 263 U.S. 413, 415-16 (1923).

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