Jeffrey Ledergerber v. Corporal Justin Blubaugh

USCA4 Appeal: 23-2193 Doc: 29 Filed: 05/15/2025 Pg: 1 of 4 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 23-2193 JEFFREY ANDREW LEDERGERBER; JAMES FRANKLIN BAKER; EDWARD THOMAS WOLF; CHARLOTTE FREDA WOLF, Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. CORPORAL JUSTIN L. BLUBAUGH, Individually and in his capacity as Harford County’s Deputy Sheriff; SHERIFF JEFFREY R. GAHLER, Individually and in his capacity as Harford County’s Sheriff; STATE OF MARYLAND, Defendants - Appellees, and HARFORD COUNTY, MARYLAND; HARFORD COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE Defendants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Beth P. Gesner, Magistrate Judge. (1:20-cv-01208-ABA) Submitted: April 17, 2025 Decided: May 15, 2025 Before THACKER and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. USCA4 Appeal: 23-2193 Doc: 29 Filed: 05/15/2025 Pg: 2 of 4 ON BRIEF: David C.M. Ledyard, LEDYARD LAW LLC, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. Anthony G. Brown, Attorney General, Kirstin Lustila, Assistant Attorney General, Alexis Gbemudu, Assistant Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Annapolis, Maryland; David M. Wyand, G. Adam Ruther, ROSENBERG MARTIN GREENBERG, LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 23-2193 Doc: 29 Filed: 05/15/2025 Pg: 3 of 4 PER CURIAM: Appellants Jeffrey Andrew Ledergerber, James Franklin Baker, Edward Thomas Wolf, and Charlotte Freda Wolf appeal the magistrate judge’s order denying relief on their civil complaint raising claims under Maryland law and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as the magistrate judge’s order denying their motion to reconsider. * We review de novo a grant of summary judgment, viewing “the facts in the light most favorable to” the nonmoving parties and “drawing all reasonable inferences in [their] favor.” Dean v. Jones, 984 F.3d 295, 301 (4th Cir. 2021). When reviewing cross-motions for summary judgment, “we consider each motion separately on its own merits to determine whether either of the parties deserves judgment as a matter of law” and “resolve all factual disputes and any competing, rational inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing that motion.” Defs. of Wildlife v. N.C. Dep’t of Transp., 762 F.3d 374, 392 (4th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) motion to reconsider. Robinson v. Wix Filtration Corp., 599 F.3d 403, 407 (4th Cir. 2010). We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error. The magistrate judge did not err in finding Appellee Justin L. Blubaugh was entitled to summary judgment on Appellants’ Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim. Blubaugh is immune from § 1983 claims arising from his grand jury testimony, see Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356, 369 (2012), and the evidence forecast on summary judgment did not create a genuine dispute as to whether he fabricated evidence or misled the prosecution, see id. at 370 n.1; * The parties consented to proceed before a magistrate judge. 3 USCA4 Appeal: 23-2193 Doc: 29 Filed: 05/15/2025 Pg: 4 of 4 Harris v. Town of S. Pines, 110 F.4th 633, 643 (4th Cir. 2024). Nor did the magistrate judge err in determining that Appellants’ remaining claims failed for similar reasons as this Fourth Amendment claim. Finally, we discern no abuse of discretion in the magistrate judge’s decision to retain jurisdiction over Appellants’ state law claims. See PEM Entities LLC v. County of Franklin, 57 F.4th 178, 184 (4th Cir. 2023) (noting standard of review). Accordingly, we affirm the magistrate judge’s orders. 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 4