Becton v. Soc. Sec. Admin.

Full title: MARIE A. BECTON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION…

Court: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: May 25, 2021

No. 21-1184 (4th Cir. May. 25, 2021)

Opinion

No. 21-1184

05-25-2021

MARIE A. BECTON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION; ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendants - Appellees.

Marie Becton, Appellant Pro Se. Wanda Denise Mason, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM

UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (5:20-cv-00394-D) Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Marie Becton, Appellant Pro Se. Wanda Denise Mason, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

Marie A. Becton seeks to appeal the district court's order granting Defendants' first motion for an extension of time in which to file the administrative record and answer her complaint.^* This court may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1292; Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-46 (1949). The order Becton seeks to appeal is neither a final order nor an appealable interlocutory or collateral order. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 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.

* Becton states in her informal brief that she is also seeking to appeal the district court's order denying her motion for default judgment. We conclude that Becton's informal brief may not serve as a notice of appeal of that order because Becton filed her brief outside the 60-day appeal period. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); Smith v. Barry, 502 U.S. 244, 248-49 (1992) (holding that appellate brief may serve as notice of appeal provided it otherwise complies with rules governing proper timing and substance). --------

DISMISSED