Flemons v. DeJoy

── Flemons v. DeJoy ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: April 22, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 25-60300 Document: 61-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/22/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-60300 FILED April 22, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Tasha N. Flemons, also known as Xochitl B., Clerk Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service Agency; Samuel Bruce Orman, United States Postal Service; Bobby Wayne Snow, United States Postal Service; Samantha Young, United States Postal Service; Tina Foster, United States Postal Service, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi USDC No. 3:24-CV-57 ______________________________ Before Jones, Duncan, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Plaintiff-Appellant Tasha Flemons filed her complaint for employ- ment discrimination, pro se, against the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) and several of its employees, claiming that she was the victim of _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-60300 Document: 61-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/22/2026 No. 25-60300 a hostile work environment stemming from treatment related to her race, age, and gender. In her form complaint, Appellant lists multiple dates on which she claims she was harassed, suffered a hostile work environment, was passed over for promotions, and was ultimately terminated from her position. The district court concluded, upon Defendant-Appellee Louis DeJoy’s motion to dismiss, that dismissal without prejudice was appropriate due to Appellant’s failure to timely serve the United States and its agency, coupled with her fail- ure to respond to the pending motion to dismiss. 1 Having reviewed the rec- ord and Appellant’s arguments on appeal, we AFFIRM the ruling of the district court. I Appellant filed her pro se complaint on February 29, 2024, making the service of process deadline for all defendants May 30, 2024. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). Appellant appealed the result of her hearing before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to the Northern District of Mississippi. 2 On March 22, 2024, the district court denied Appellant’s motion for the appointment of counsel, holding that no “exceptional circumstances” existed which would allow the district court to appoint counsel in a civil case. Ulmer v. Chancellor, 691 F.2d 209, 212 (5th Cir. 1982). In April of 2024, Appellant then attempted to effectuate service on her own. The magistrate judge then issued a case management order setting scheduling deadlines, the final pretrial conference date, and a trial date. Appellant then filed two executed returns of service as to Defendants Louis _____________________ 1 DeJoy’s unopposed motion to dismiss necessitated the dismissal of the entire action, as Appellant did not properly serve the United States and its agency, USPS, as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i). 2