Opinions of the United
2006 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
6-2-2006
Hudson v. McKeesport Pol Chief
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 05-5311
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"Hudson v. McKeesport Pol Chief " (2006). 2006 Decisions. Paper 962.
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DPS-221 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
NO. 05-5311
________________
HUBERT HUDSON; ROBERTA HUDSON;
SHEALIASSIA WILLIAMS
v.
MCKEESPORT POLICE CHIEF; MAYOR BREWSTER;
DENNIS WYN; T. BARLETIC; CITY OF
MCKEESPORT POLICE DEPT.; DAVID FATH
HUBERT HUDSON, Appellant
_______________________________________
On Appeal From the United States District Court
For the Western District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civ. No. 05-cv-1611)
District Judge: Honorable Gary L. Lancaster
_______________________________________
Submitted For Possible Dismissal Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) or Summary Action
Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
May 11, 2006
BEFORE: FUENTES, VAN ANTWERPEN and *ROTH, CIRCUIT JUDGES
(Filed June 2, 2006)
_______________________
OPINION
_______________________
__________________________________
* Judge Roth assumed senior status on May 31, 2006
PER CURIAM
Hubert Hudson appeals from the District Court’s order dismissing his complaint as
frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). On November 29, 2005, the District Court
dismissed Hudson’s pro se complaint because “[his] handwritten complaint quite frankly
is indecipherable.” Hudson v. McKeesport Police Dept., No. 05-01611 slip op. at 3
(W.D. Pa.). Because the District Court did not give Hudson an opportunity to amend his
complaint prior to its ultimate dismissal as required by Grayson v. Mayhew State Hosp.,
293 F.3d 103 (3d Cir. 2003), we will summarily reverse.
On November 22, 2005, Hudson filed a handwritten pro se complaint along with a
motion to proceed in forma pauperis. Although the complaint is admittedly difficult to
understand, we can discern some, but not all of, the claims in the complaint. Hudson
alleged that, on September 2, 2005, Dennis Wyn of the McKeesport Police Department
entered his home without a warrant or probable cause and wrongfully arrested him using
excessive force. According to Hudson, Wyn “grabed [sic] my neck, hand cuffed, throwr
[sic] the [sic] ground by way of, knight stick [sic], back of right knee/legs” and “kicked in
the face while the [sic] ground.” (Compl. at 4.) He also claimed that Magistrate Barletic
uses his office to enrich himself and the town by collaborating with racist police officers
to force local African-Americans to plead guilty to “bogus charges.” (Compl. at 5.)
Finally Hudson claimed that there is a conspiracy between Magistrate Barletic and the
Mayor of McKeesport involving the local police and housing authority to intimidate and
harass the town’s African-American population. (Compl. at 6-7.)
2
Even if the District Court is correct and the “complaint is so confusing that no
party could possibly understand or reply to it,” slip op. at 3, the proper remedy is not
immediate dismissal. Rather, prior to dismissing a pro se complaint under § 1915(e), a
district court must give the plaintiff an opportunity to amend his pleading to cure the
defect unless such an amendment would be futile or prejudicial. See Grayson, 293 F.3d
at 108; Shane v. Fauver, 213 F.3d 113, 117 (3d Cir.2000). Nor can the District Court
avoid this obligation by dismissing a pro se complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a).1 See
Simmons II v. Abruzzo, 49 F.3d 83, 86-87 (2d Cir. 1995). The particular defect
identified by the District Court in Hudson’s complaint, its illegibility, can surely be cured
in an amended complaint. Hudson could do so by simply borrowing a typewriter, using
the computer at the local library, or having a friend with better penmanship write the
complaint by hand. Further, since the complaint was never served on the defendants,
such an amendment would not be prejudicial.
In short, upon consideration of the record below, we conclude that this appeal
presents us with no substantial question. See Third Circuit L.A.R. 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6.
Accordingly, we will summarily reverse the District Court’s order and remand the case
for further proceedings.
1
Although we need not decide precisely which ones at the moment, we believe that
some of the claims in Hudson’s complaint, liberally construed, would satisfy Fed. R. Civ.
P. 8(a)’s requirement that a complaint must include a short plain statement of each claim.
See Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 9 (1980) (holding that allegations in a pro se complaint
“however inartfully pleaded are held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings
drafted by lawyers”).
3