DLD-271 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 11-2594
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PATRICK D. TILLIO, SR.,
Appellant
v.
DAVIS, BENNETT, BARR & SPIESS PENNGRASS ATTORNEYS AT LAW;
VINCENT’S HARDWOOD FLOORING; LAUREN MCSORLEY; MIKE DIGNAZIO;
JAMS WAIST; FRANK KANE; PIECE & CANIGLIA ATTORNEY
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civ. No. 11-cv-03245)
District Judge: Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe
____________________________________
Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)
or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
August 18, 2011
Before: FISHER, BARRY and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: September 9, 2011 )
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OPINION
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PER CURIAM
Patrick D. Tillio, Sr., appeals pro se from the District Court’s dismissal of his
complaint. We will affirm.
Tillio filed suit pro se against a law firm and other defendants. His complaint is
difficult to follow, but he appears to seek damages arising from unspecified fraud in
connection with the execution of a writ of possession for property located in Ardmore,
Pennsylvania, which according to his complaint appears to be the subject of state court
proceedings. He also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). By
order entered May 25, 2011, the District Court granted Tillio leave to proceed IFP and
dismissed his complaint as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). As the District
Court noted, Tillio’s complaint fails to comply with Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure and alleges nothing suggesting that any defendant acted under state law.
Tillio appeals.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we review the District Court’s
dismissal of an IFP complaint as frivolous for abuse of discretion. See Denton v.
Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 33 (1992). We perceive no abuse of discretion here. We agree
that Tillio’s complaint does not comply with Rule 8(a) and fails to allege anything
suggesting a federal claim. District courts generally should not dismiss a complaint as
frivolous if it could be cured by amendment, and the District Court did not address that
possibility. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 112-13 (3d Cir. 2002).
We are satisfied, however, that any amendment would be futile. Tillio has filed at least
two other similar complaints against a member of the law firm defendant in this case.
(E.D. Pa. Civ. Nos. 04-cv-03704 & 11-cv-00288.) The District Court dismissed the first
of these suits in 2004, and we dismissed Tillio’s resultant appeal for failure to prosecute.
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(C.A. No. 04-3666, Nov. 8, 2004 order.) The District Court also dismissed the second of
these suits. We recently affirmed that ruling and noted that leave to amend would have
been futile because “[n]one of [Tillio’s] submissions . . . reveals any factual or legal basis
for a federal claim.” Tillio v. Spiess, No. 11-1276, 2011 WL 3346787, at *1 (3d Cir.
Aug. 4, 2011). The same is true here. If there were any basis for a federal claim, Tillio
has had ample opportunity to present it. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment of the
District Court.
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