PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-1414

THE WALL GUY, INC.; JEFFREY FRYE; JR CONTRACTORS,

Plaintiffs – Appellants,

v.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, as receiver for The First State Bank,

Defendant – Appellee.

No. 21-1387

THE WALL GUY, INC.; JEFFREY FRYE; JR CONTRACTORS,

Plaintiffs – Appellees,

v.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, as receiver for The First State Bank,

Defendant – Appellant.

No. 23-1380

THE WALL GUY, INC.; JEFFREY FRYE; JR CONTRACTORS, USCA4 Appeal: 21-1414 Doc: 66 Filed: 03/18/2024 Pg: 2 of 28

Plaintiffs – Appellees,

v.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, as receiver for The First State Bank,

Defendant – Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington. Robert C. Chambers, District Judge. (3:20–cv–00304)

Argued: January 23, 2024 Decided: March 18, 2024

Before AGEE, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by published opinion. Judge Wynn wrote the opinion, in which Judge Agee and Judge Thacker joined.

ARGUED: Steven Todd Cook, COOK LAW OFFICES, PLLC, Barboursville, West Virginia, for Appellants/Cross-Appellees. John William Guarisco, FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, Arlington, Virginia, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. ON BRIEF: B. Amon James, Assistant General Counsel, J. Scott Watson, Senior Counsel, FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, Arlington, Virginia, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

2 USCA4 Appeal: 21-1414 Doc: 66 Filed: 03/18/2024 Pg: 3 of 28

WYNN, Circuit Judge:

This case originates from a lending relationship between Plaintiffs—Jeffrey Frye

and his companies The Wall Guy, Inc., and JR Contractors—and First State Bank (“the

Bank”). When that relationship soured, the parties sued each other. What followed was

nearly a decade of litigation, including two state-court lawsuits, a jury trial, post-trial

motions, removal to federal district court, and motions practice in that court.

As it comes to us on appeal, however, this case turns on the threshold question of

whether Plaintiffs have properly invoked our appellate jurisdiction. Because we conclude

that they have not, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

I.

We begin with the relevant factual history.

In January 2016, Plaintiffs sued the Bank in West Virginia state court for, in relevant

part, breach of contract (“First Case”). A few months later, the Bank sued Plaintiffs—also

in state court—alleging that they had defaulted on various loans (“Second Case”). The

court in the Second Case found Plaintiffs had no equity in certain collateral and directed it

be surrendered to the Bank. Plaintiffs did not seek timely reconsideration of or appeal that

order, and there were no further entries on the docket in the Second Case until 2019.

Meanwhile, in August 2018, the First Case proceeded to a jury trial. The jury

awarded Plaintiffs $1,500,000. Following the verdict, the parties entered into an agreement

to secure the judgment (“the Pledge Agreement”), with specific real estate identified as

collateral.

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