Rebecca Hamrick v. Kimber Dover-Jackson

USCA4 Appeal: 24-1835 Doc: 35 Filed: 06/09/2025 Pg: 1 of 3 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-1835 REBECCA MICHELLE HAMRICK, individually and as parent of minors A.H. and K.H.; HAYLEY HARRISON, Plaintiffs – Appellants, v. KIMBER DOVER-JACKSON, in her individual capacity; KELSEY FERGUSON, in her individual capacity, Defendants – Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, Chief District Judge. (1:22-cv-00143-MR-WCM) Submitted: March 6, 2025 Decided: June 9, 2025 Before KING, AGEE, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: Bo Caudill, Sophia M. Pappalardo, VILLMER CAUDILL, PLLC, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellants. Sean Francis Perrin, WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON (US) LLP, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-1835 Doc: 35 Filed: 06/09/2025 Pg: 2 of 3 PER CURIAM: Plaintiffs Rebecca Michelle Hamrick, individually and as next friend to her minor children A.H. and K.H., and Hayley Harrison, plaintiff Hamrick’s adult daughter, appeal from the district court’s award of summary judgment to defendants Kimber Dover-Jackson and Kelsey Ferguson on various state and federal claims. See Hamrick v. Rutherford Cnty., No. 1:22-cv-00143, 2024 WL 3585675 (W.D.N.C. July 30, 2024), ECF No. 42 (the “Summary Judgment Order”). The plaintiffs initiated this civil action in July 2022 by filing a 10-count complaint in the Western District of North Carolina. Their complaint alleged claims against four defendants, Rutherford County, John Carroll, the Director of the County’s Department of Social Services (the “DSS”), Ms. Dover-Jackson, a supervisor in the DSS, and Ms. Ferguson, a social worker with the DSS — each in their individual capacity only. The claims arose from a so-called “Temporary Parental Safety Agreement” between Hamrick and DSS with respect to Hamrick’s three children, and the Agreement was initiated due to concerns about their father’s drug use and violent behavior. On April 17, 2023, after accepting the recommendations of a United States Magistrate Judge, the district court resolved a substantial part of this litigation, granting a motion to dismiss and rejecting all claims lodged against defendants Rutherford County and Director Carroll. See Hamrick v. Rutherford Cnty., No. 1:22-cv-00143, 2023 WL 2978948 (W.D.N.C. April 17, 2023), ECF No. 17 (the “Dismissal Order”). The court therein also dismissed claims of constructive fraud and violations of the Constitution of 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-1835 Doc: 35 Filed: 06/09/2025 Pg: 3 of 3 North Carolina that were alleged against defendants Dover-Jackson and Ferguson.* On July 30, 2024, the court filed its Summary Judgment Order and resolved the balance of the pending claims by awarding summary judgment to defendants Dover-Jackson and Ferguson on all other federal and state claims lodged against them. The plaintiffs now appeal the Summary Judgment Order. Having thoroughly assessed the appellate submissions and the record in this litigation, we are unable to identify any reversible error in any of the challenged rulings. Accordingly, we are content to adopt the district court’s carefully crafted and well-reasoned Summary Judgment Order disposing of those issues. Finally, we dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions have been adequately presented in the materials before this Court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED * None of the rulings made in the Dismissal Order are challenged on appeal. The claims pursued on appeal relate only to the County’s employees, Ms. Dover-Jackson and Ms. Ferguson, solely in their individual capacities. 3