Emir Phillips v. Harford Community College

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: May 13, 2025
• Docket: 24-3216
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 24-3216 ___________________________

Emir Phillips

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant

v.

Harford Community College

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville ____________

Submitted: May 8, 2025 Filed: May 13, 2025 [Unpublished] ____________

Before LOKEN, SHEPHERD, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Arkansas resident Emir Phillips appeals the district court’s1 dismissal of his employment discrimination action against Harford Community College (Harford), an

1 The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. institution located in Maryland, for lack of personal jurisdiction. Upon careful review, we conclude Phillips did not demonstrate that Harford had sufficient minimum contacts with the state of Arkansas to confer personal jurisdiction to the district court. See Bros. & Sisters in Christ, LLC v. Zazzle, Inc., 42 F.4th 948, 951 (8th Cir. 2022); Fastpath, Inc. v. Arbela Techs. Corp., 760 F.3d 816, 820-21 (8th Cir. 2014); Dever v. Hentzen Coatings, Inc., 380 F.3d 1070, 1073 (8th Cir. 2004). Because we conclude there was no personal jurisdiction, we do not reach the issues related to venue. See Johnson v. Arden, 614 F.3d 785, 798 (8th Cir. 2010).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. ______________________________

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