Opinions of the United
2005 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
8-23-2005
In Re: Bronson v. Horn
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 05-2670
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Recommended Citation
"In Re: Bronson v. Horn" (2005). 2005 Decisions. Paper 658.
http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/thirdcircuit_2005/658
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DPS-280 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 05-2670
________________
IN RE: PURCELL BRONSON,
Petitioner
____________________________
On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the
United States District Court For the
Middle District of Pennsylvania
(Related to D.C. Civ. No. 03-cv-00130)
__________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. Pro.
June 16, 2005
Before: ROTH, BARRY AND SMITH, CIRCUIT JUDGES
(Filed: August 23, 2005 )
________________
OPINION
________________
PER CURIAM
Petitioner Purcell Bronson and several other state prisoners filed suit in United
States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in January 2003. In an order
entered on November 12, 2004, the District Court granted the plaintiffs leave to file a
second amended complaint on or before December 20, 2004, or suffer dismissal of the
case. In an order entered on January 5, 2005, the District Court found that the plaintiffs
had not filed their amended complaint by the deadline, and thus had not complied with
the court’s order. The court ordered the case closed. All outstanding motions were
denied as moot. In an order entered on January 19, 2005, the District Court reopened the
case after learning that plaintiff Michael Grazier had not received the court’s orders due
to a clerical error. Grazier was given a new deadline of February 17, 2005 to file his
second amended complaint.
On February 7, 2005, Bronson filed a notice of appeal from the January 5 order,
which was docketed in this Court at C.A. No. 05-1388. Bronson was advised by the
Legal Division of our Clerk’s Office that his appeal was premature, because an order
entered by a District Court that determines the rights and liabilities of fewer than all of the
parties is not immediately appealable unless the District Court directs the entry of
judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b).
Also on February 7, 2005, Bronson filed a motion for reconsideration and a motion
for an extension of time to file a motion for reconsideration. In an order entered on
February 28, 2005, the District Court denied the motion for reconsideration as untimely,
and denied the motion for an extension of time. In a second order entered on the same
day, the District Court ordered the case closed once again insofar as Grazier had failed to
file his amended complaint by the deadline. The case thus became ripe for appeal on
February 28, 2005.
Instead of filing a new notice of appeal, or paying the appellate docketing fees in
the appeal docketed at C.A. No. 05-1388 (the appeal was procedurally terminated by the
Clerk on March 31, 2005 when the appellate docketing fees were not paid), and
submitting written jurisdictional argument that appeal No. 05-1388 ripened upon the
District Court’s February 28, 2005 order, Cape May Greene, Inc. v. Warren, 698 F.2d
179, 184-85 (3d Cir. 1983) (holding that premature notice of appeal, filed after
disposition of some claims, but before entry of final judgment, will ripen upon court’s
disposal of remaining claims), Bronson, on May 24, 2005, filed the instant petition for
writ of mandamus.
Bronson appears to complain that there are outstanding matters in the case below
that the District Court should be required to decide. There are not, and we thus conclude
that Bronson is not entitled to mandamus relief because he has not shown that the right to
issuance of this extraordinary form of relief is clear and indisputable. Madden v. Myers,
102 F.3d 74, 79 (3d Cir. 1996). The case is over in the district court and all outstanding
motions have been decided. Bronson also asserts in his mandamus petition that he made
significant efforts to comply with the District Court’s November 12 order granting the
plaintiffs leave to file a second amended complaint on or before December 20, 2004.
This allegation of error is the kind that can be addressed on appeal and thus is not a
proper basis for a mandamus petition. Helstoski v. Meanor, 442 U.S. 500, 505-06 (1979).
Because the mandamus petition is evidently bona fide, Bronson is not subject to
the fee provisions of the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act. Madden, 102 F.3d at 78-79.
We will deny the petition for writ of mandamus.