Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. v. Dennis Philipson

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 25-2354

MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC., Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

DENNIS MICHAEL PHILIPSON, Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. William Edward Fitzpatrick, Magistrate Judge. (1:25-mc-00012-MSN-WEF)

Submitted: August 11, 2026 Decided: August 27, 2026

Before KING and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Dennis Michael Philipson, Appellant Pro Se. Allison Wiseman Acker, BASS, BERRY & SIMS, PLC, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2

PER CURIAM:

Dennis Michael Philipson appeals the magistrate judge’s order on a writ of garnishment. * Upon review, we conclude that the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction to enter a final order.

A magistrate judge may only enter a final judgment if the district court has properly referred the case to the magistrate judge and the parties consent to the magistrate judge’s jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1). Here, the record does not reflect that the parties voluntarily consented to final disposition by the magistrate judge after receiving written notice of the need for consent, as required by § 636(c). Thus, the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction to enter a final order. See United States v. Bryson, 981 F.2d 720, 722-26 (4th Cir. 1992).

Accordingly, we vacate the garnishment order and remand this case for further proceedings. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

VACATED AND REMANDED

*

Philipson’s pending motions are denied as moot.