Arun Chhabra v. ACW New Jersey, Inc.

USCA4 Appeal: 24-1806 Doc: 17 Filed: 07/31/2025 Pg: 1 of 2 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-1806 ARUN K. CHHABRA, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. ACW NEW JERSEY, INC., Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District Judge. (1:24-cv-00150-LMB-WEF) Submitted: July 29, 2025 Decided: July 31, 2025 Before KING, WYNN, and BERNER Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Arun K. Chhabra, Appellant Pro Se. Matthew D. Berkowitz, CARR MALONEY, PC, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-1806 Doc: 17 Filed: 07/31/2025 Pg: 2 of 2 PER CURIAM: Arun K. Chhabra appeals the district court’s order granting Defendant summary judgment in Chhabra’s pro se civil suit—a premises liability action that sounded in Virginia law—which Defendant removed to federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(a), 1441(b). The court also denied Chhabra’s request to stay the underlying matter to allow Chhabra, who is an attorney, more time to obtain legal representation. We have reviewed the record in conjunction with the arguments raised on appeal * and discern no reversible error or abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order. See Chhabra v. ACW N.J., Inc., No. 1:24-cv-00150-LMB-WEF (E.D. Va. filed July 25, 2024 & entered July 26, 2024). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED * Defendant moves to strike Chhabra’s informal reply brief in which Chhabra raised new arguments and presented new evidence that is not part of the record. We deny the motion to strike because the Clerk’s Office extended the deadline for filing a reply. However, we observe that the new issues and arguments are waived, see Clendening v. United States, 19 F.4th 421, 430 n.7 (4th Cir. 2021) (“A party waives an argument by raising it for the first time in its reply brief.” (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted)), and that the new evidence attached to the reply brief is not properly before this court because it was not tendered to the district court. 2