Duane Gonder v. Dexter Payne

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: November 30, 2021
• Docket: 20-3735
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 20-3735 ___________________________

Duane J. Gonder

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant

v.

Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Division of Correction (originally named as Wendy Kelley)

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee ___________________________

No. 21-1056 ___________________________

Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Division of Correction (originally named as Wendy Kelley)

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee ____________

Appeals from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Pine Bluff ____________ Submitted: November 23, 2021 Filed: November 30, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________

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

PER CURIAM.

In these consolidated matters, Duane Gonder appeals after the district court1 denied his post-judgment motions in his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 proceeding and granted a certificate of appealability.

After careful review of the record and the parties’ arguments on appeal, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Gonder’s post-judgment motions based on a lack of prejudice. See Raymond v. United States, 933 F.3d 988, 991 (8th Cir. 2019) (reviewing the denial of a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) for an abuse of discretion; observing that a good claim or defense is a precondition to relief).

Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. We also deny Gonder’s pending pro se motion to “preserve the effectiveness of the judgment.” ______________________________

1 The Honorable D.P. Marshall, Jr., Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

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