Eric Ramond Chambers v. Warden of Alexander Correctional, et al.

District Court, W.D. North Carolina·Decided May 20, 2026·No. 5:23-cv-00159·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA STATESVILLE DIVISION CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:23-cv-00159-MR-DCK

ERIC RAMOND CHAMBERS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ) MEMORANDUM WARDEN OF ALEXANDER ) OF DECISION AND ORDER CORRECTIONAL, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________)

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 79] filed by the Defendants Jeremy Gilliland, Robert Kalinowski, Michael Moody, and Dwight Morgan. Also pending is the Plaintiff’s pro se Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment [Doc. 89]. I. BACKGROUND The pro se incarcerated Plaintiff Eric Ramond Chambers filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.1 The unverified Amended Complaint2

1 The Plaintiff initially filed this action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina; it was subsequently transferred to this Court where venue lies. [See Doc. 15].

2 The superseded Complaints are also unverified. [See Docs. 1, 8, 18-1; see also Docs. 18 at 3; 26 at 3 (unsworn “Affidavits”)]. As such, they cannot be considered on summary judgment as a forecast of evidence. See generally Goodman v. Diggs, 986 F.3d 493 (4th Cir. 2021) (a verified complaint is the equivalent of an opposing affidavit for summary passed initial review with regard to incidents that allegedly occurred at the Marion Correctional Institution.3 Presently pending are claims that

Defendants Morgan, Gilliland, and Kalinowski used excessive force, and that Defendant Moody was deliberately indifferent to a serious medical need.4 [Doc. 31: Am. Compl.; Doc. 32: Order on Initial Review].

The Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss due to the Plaintiff’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies. [Doc. 52: MTD]. The Plaintiff argued that prison staff made the grievance procedure unavailable. [Doc. 31: Am. Compl; Doc. 59: MTD Resp.]. The Defendants did not dispute the Plaintiff’s

assertions, nor did they file complete grievance documents addressing the Plaintiff’s claims of unavailability. [See Doc. 62: Memo. and Recom. at 8]. Accordingly, Court denied the Motion to Dismiss. [Doc. 66: MTD Order].

On November 19, 2025, the Defendants filed the present Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting materials. [Docs. 79, 80]. Thereafter, the Court entered an Order in accordance with Roseboro v. Garrison, 528

judgment purposes); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 (a declaration must be signed under penalty of perjury to satisfy the federal requirement for affidavits or sworn statements).

3 Claims based on incidents that allegedly occurred at the Alexander CI were severed and dismissed without prejudice. [See Doc. 32]. The Plaintiff’s present address is at the Bertie CI.

4 The Plaintiff also asserted claims against Defendant Rhonda McLain. The Court dismissed these claims without prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). [Docs. 62, 66]. F.2d 309 (4th Cir. 1975), advising the Plaintiff of the requirements for filing a response to the Defendants’ summary judgment motion and of the manner

in which evidence could be submitted to the Court. [Doc. 81]. The Plaintiff filed an unverified Response and supporting materials. [Doc. 83: MSJ Resp., Doc. 83-1: “Affidavit”;5 Doc. 83-2: Resp. Ex; Doc. 84: Medical Records]. The

Defendants replied and sought leave to manually file video exhibits. [Doc. 85]. On February 26, 2026 the Court granted Defendants leave to manually file video exhibits, and the Plaintiff was granted the opportunity to file a surreply addressing the video exhibits. [Doc. 88]. The Plaintiff has not filed

a surreply, and the time to do so has expired. Meanwhile, on February 20, 2026,6 the Plaintiff filed a “Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment” in which he seeks relief pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.

59(e). [Doc. 89: Motion to Alter or Amend]. He argues verbatim: 1. The Courts did not see the correct and accurate camera footage.

2. Courts made decision based on a write up, a “statement” by a officer that does not coincide with camera footage.

5 The “Affidavit” is not signed under penalty of perjury and thus has no value as a forecast of evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 1746.

6 Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988) (establishing the prisoner mailbox rule); Lewis v. Richmond City Police Dep’t, 947 F.2d 733 (4th Cir. 1991) (applying prisoner mailbox rule to § 1983 case). 3. I was not present at court appearance and it’s no way possible that what courts said was on footage was correct I can prove this.

4. I also presented a lot of evidence, grievances, sick calls, x- rays, and “surgery” reports, courts lied when said I didn’t present evidence.

[Id.] (errors uncorrected). These matters are now ripe for disposition. II. MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND JUDGMENT Pursuant to Rule 59(e), a party may file a motion to alter or amend no later than 28 days after the entry of a final judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e); Fayetteville Inv. v. Comm’l Builders, Inc., 936 F.2d 1462 (4th Cir. 1991) (Rule 59(e) applies only to a final judgment). The Plaintiff’s reliance on Rule 59(e) is unavailing because, until this juncture, there has been no final judgment entered in this case. The Court’s Orders on initial review and dismissing Defendant McLain pursuant to Rule 4(m) are not final judgments for purposes of Rule 59(e). See generally Am. Canoe Ass’n v. Murphy Farms, Inc., 326 F.3d 505, 514-15 (4th Cir. 2003);

Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). In any event, the Plaintiff has offered no basis upon which to reconsider those Orders. Moreover, the Motion to Alter or Amend is vague, conclusory, and nonsensical. While the Plaintiff vaguely refers to

camera footage, a court appearance, and a court decision, there has been no hearing or fact finding in this case, and the Defendants had not yet filed any video footage as of February 20, 2026 when the Plaintiff filed his Motion

to Alter or Amend. In short, there are no grounds upon which relief is warranted. The Motion to Alter or Amend is therefore denied. III. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment shall be granted “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A factual dispute is genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict

for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A fact is material only if it might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law. Id.

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Eric Ramond Chambers v. Warden of Alexander Correctional, et al., (W.D.N.C. 2026).

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