Felix Arp v. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff, No. 16-2733 (8th Cir. 2016)

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Court Description: Per Curiam - Before Murphy, Arnold and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Dismissal was proper because plaintiff failed to state whether he was suing the defendants in their individual or official capacity; in the absence of such a declaration, the claims are construed as official capacity claims and they were properly dismissed as they were barred by the Eleventh Amendment. [ November 01, 2016

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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 16-2733 ___________________________ Felix Allen Arp, lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant, v. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff, lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant, Matt Dale Klunder, lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee. ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Ft. Dodge ____________ Submitted: October 28, 2016 Filed: November 2, 2016 [Unpublished] ____________ Before MURPHY, ARNOLD, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Felix Arp appeals after the district court1 dismissed his pro se 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983 complaint. We grant leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. Upon careful review, we find no reason to reverse the dismissal order because Arp failed to specify the capacity in which the defendant was sued despite warnings from the district court. Therefore, the court interprets the complaint as asserting only official-capacity claims, which are barred by Eleventh Amendment. See Baker v. Chisom, 501 F.3d 920, 923, 925 (8th Cir. 2007); Alabama v. Pugh, 438 U.S. 781, 782 (1978). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________ 1 The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. -2-

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