Brandon Lavergne v. Mac Sanford

570 F. App'x 385

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: June 3, 2014
• Docket: 14-30231
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Brandon Lavergne, an inmate serving two life sentences, sued, pro se, a private investigation firm and its president for allegedly making false accusations amounting to libel and slander and constitutional violations. The matter was referred to the magistrate judge (“MJ”), who issued a thorough and convincing Report and Recommendation, which the district court adopted, recommending that the action be dismissed for various reasons, including lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim.

We agree with the MJ. There is no federal jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against non-state actors. The claim based on the allegedly false statements is barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994). There is no diversity of citizenship for the state-law claims because the amount-in-controversy requirement is not met.

The judgment of dismissal is AFFIRMED, essentially for the reasons stated by the MJ and accepted by the district court.

* Pursuant to 5th Cir R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.