Jean Baptichon v. EDUC

• Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Decided: January 11, 2024
• Docket: 23-5081
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT ____________ No. 23-5081 September Term, 2023 1:22-cv-00941-CJN Filed On: January 11, 2024 Jean Dufort Baptichon,

Appellant

v.

United States Department of Education and WMU/Cooley Law School,

Appellees

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

BEFORE: Henderson, Childs, and Pan, Circuit Judges

JUDGMENT

This appeal was considered on the record from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and on the brief filed by appellant. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); D.C. Cir. Rule 34(j). It is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the district court’s order filed March 17, 2023, be affirmed as to appellee Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The district court correctly dismissed appellant’s claims against Cooley for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Erwin-Simpson v. AirAsia Berhad, 985 F.3d 883, 888-89 (D.C. Cir. 2021). Appellant has failed to establish any contacts with the District of Columbia that would support the district court’s exercise of either general or specific jurisdiction over Cooley. See id. (construing D.C. Code. § 13-334 and § 13-422); D.C. Code § 13-423(a)-(b); Livnat v. Palestinian Auth., 851 F.3d 45, 57 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (holding that “[c]onclusory statements” do not satisfy the plaintiff’s burden of showing pertinent jurisdictional facts to survive a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (quotation omitted)). The district court also did not abuse its discretion in failing to sua sponte transfer appellant’s claims against Cooley. See Hill v. U.S. Air Force, 795 F.2d 1067, 1070-71 (D.C. Cir. 1986); 28 U.S.C. § 1631.

Pursuant to D.C. Circuit Rule 36, this disposition will not be published. The Clerk is directed to withhold issuance of the mandate herein until seven days after resolution United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT ____________ No. 23-5081 September Term, 2023

of any timely petition for rehearing or petition for rehearing en banc. See Fed. R. App. P. 41(b); D.C. Cir. Rule 41.

Per Curiam

FOR THE COURT: Mark J. Langer, Clerk

BY: /s/ Daniel J. Reidy Deputy Clerk

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