Marion Sherrod v. Sid Harkleroad, 18-6289

Plaintiff Marion Sherrod, with a documented chronic seizure disorder, was transferred to Marion Correctional Institution; after inpatient care he was later moved to an upstairs cell despite his request not to be moved.
While handcuffed and restrained being escorted down stairs on November 15, 2009, Sherrod had a seizure and fell, sustaining injuries; nurses Larry Bass and Margaret Johnson wrote witness statements that omitted his seizure disorder and described alleged aggressive conduct.
Sherrod sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference by medical provider John Morgan and several prison staff, and alleged Bass and Johnson conspired by submitting false statements that deprived him of care.
The district court dismissed Morgan in February 2013, granted judgment on the pleadings for Bass in March 2015, and dismissed several other defendants in March 2016; Sherrod appealed the final judgment entered March 30, 2016.
The Fourth Circuit issued a per curiam opinion vacating and remanding some dismissals but later clarified that the earlier dismissal of Morgan was not affected; on remand the district court terminated Morgan and proceeded against McEntire; Sherrod appealed again.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed: it held it had jurisdiction over earlier dismissals via the merger rule, but Sherrod had waived his right to appeal Morgan’s dismissal; and the complaint failed to plead how Bass’s and Johnson’s statements caused a constitutional deprivation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Appellate jurisdiction to review earlier dismissals	Sherrod: appeal from final judgment (Mar 30, 2016) encompasses prior orders	Morgan/Bass: Sherrod only noticed March 30, 2016 order; earlier dismissals not before court	Court: jurisdiction exists under the merger rule (appeal from final judgment reviews prior orders)
Waiver of appeal as to Morgan	Sherrod: pro se status and perceived docket/caption confusion; he did not intend to pursue Morgan on appeal	Morgan: Sherrod failed to raise Morgan in his informal brief, thus abandoned the claim	Court: Sherrod waived appellate review of Morgan by failing to raise the issue and affirm dismissal
Effect of Fourth Circuit per curiam and clarification orders	Sherrod: per curiam language suggested Morgan survived; argued the panel implicitly revived Morgan	Morgan: Court subsequently issued clarification that per curiam did not affect Morgan’s earlier dismissal	Court: Clarification controlled; per curiam did not revive Morgan
Sufficiency of deliberate-indifference pleadings against Bass & Johnson	Sherrod: their false witness statements caused him to be denied proper care and thus constituted deliberate indifference/causation	Bass & Johnson: statements (even if false) were not plausibly linked to withholding or delay of constitutionally adequate medical care	Court: Complaint failed to allege how false statements caused the alleged harm; dismissal under Rule 12(c) was proper

Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976) (deliberate indifference to serious medical needs violates the Eighth Amendment)
Quackenbush v. Allstate Ins. Co., 517 U.S. 706 (1996) (final judgment/merger rule permits review of earlier interlocutory orders)
Burbach Broad. Co. of Delaware v. Elkins Radio Corp., 278 F.3d 401 (4th Cir. 2002) (standard of review for Rule 12(b)(6)/12(c) motions is de novo)
Wright v. Collins, 766 F.2d 841 (4th Cir. 1985) (disagreement over medical treatment quality insufficient for § 1983 deliberate indifference)
Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231 (4th Cir. 1999) (failure to raise issue in brief constitutes abandonment on appeal)
Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170 (4th Cir. 2014) (appellate review is limited to issues raised in the informal brief)
Thompson v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 878 F.3d 89 (4th Cir. 2017) (articulation of the two‑pronged deliberate indifference standard)
Manning v. Caldwell for City of Roanoke, 930 F.3d 264 (4th Cir. 2019) (circumstances permitting excusal of waiver when record supports alternative theory and no prejudice)
Grayson O Co. v. Agadir Int’l LLC, 856 F.3d 307 (4th Cir. 2017) (issues not raised are considered waived/abandoned on appeal)
Brown v. Nucor Corp., 785 F.3d 895 (4th Cir. 2015) (failure to raise an issue in opening brief leads to waiver)