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w . v i l l a no v a . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2015/472NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

___________ No. 14

- 4208

___________ YI JING GROEBER ,

Appellant

v. FRIEDMAN AND SCHUMAN P.C.

____________________________________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 2:13

- cv - 00111 ) District Judge: Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno

____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)

May 6, 2015 Before: CHAGARES, JORDAN and COWEN , Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed : May 8, 2015 )

___________ OPINION *

___________ PER CURIAM

* This disposition is not an opinion of the full C ourt and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent.2

Yi Jing Groeber , proceeding pro se, appeals from the District Court’s orders denying her motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Fe deral Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) , and her motion for recusal

. For the reasons that follow , we will affirm. In January 2013, Groeber filed a complaint in the District Court against her former employer, Friedman and Schuman, P.C. (“Friedman ”), allegi ng violations of Titl e VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq. Groeber claimed that Friedman discriminated against her on the basis of her race and retaliated against her for complaining of discrimination. By order entered on April 29, 2013, t he District Court gra nted Friedman’s motion to dismiss Groeber’s comp laint

. We affirmed the District Court’s judgment

. See Groeber v. Friedman and Schuman, P.C. , 555 F. App’ x 133 (3d Cir. 2014). More than a year after the District Court entered judgment in Groeber’s case,
G roeber filed in the District Court a motio n for relief from judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) , claiming that the judgment should be vacated because the earlier District Court proceedings in this case had been tainted by fraud and m isconduct. Sh ortly thereafter, Groeber filed in the District Court a motion fo r recusal pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 144. In that motion, she argued that Judge Robreno should not decide her Rule 60(b) motion because he had demonstrated bias during earlier pro ceedings in the case

. By separate orders entered on September 18, 2014, the District Court denied Groeber’s

mo tions. Groeber filed a timely notice of appeal from both orders of the District Court

.3

We have juris diction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291

. We review both orders for abuse of discretion

. Budget Blinds, Inc. v. White , 536 F.3d 244, 251 (3d Cir. 2008) ( applying the standard to review of a motion for relief from judgment) ; Jones v. Pittsburgh Nat’l Corp. , 899 F.2d 1350, 1356 (3d Cir. 1990) ( applying the same to review of an order denying a motion for recusal)

. After a careful review of the record, we will affirm both orders of the District Court.
T he District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Groeber’s motion for recusal

. Under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) , a judge should no longer preside over a case when a reasonable person, with knowledge of the facts, would conclude that the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. United States v. Bergrin , 682 F.3d 261, 282 (3d C ir. 2012) . To warrant reassignment, a case must generally involve apparent bias from an extrajudicial source, above and beyond judicial rulings or opinions formed in presiding over the case. Id. ; see also Liteky v. United States , 510 U.S. 540, 555 (1994)

. Recusal motions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 144 , which governs disqualification for bias or prejudice, must include an affidavit stating material facts with particularity which, if true, would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the District Court har bored a special bias or prejudice toward the defendant. See United States v. Thompson , 483 F.2d 527, 528 (3d Cir. 1973)

. First, under § 455 , there is no extrajudicial source demonstrating bias beyond th e judicial rulings in the case. Second, having re viewed Groeber’s allegations, we conclude4

that none of Judge Robreno’s alleged actions demonstrate any personal bi as of the type required by § 144 . Groeber’s displeasure with the District Court’s earlier rulings is not an adequate basis for recusal. Secu racomm Consulting, Inc. v. Securacom Inc. , 224 F.3d 273, 278 (3d Cir. 2000)

. The District Court also correctly concluded that Groeber did not satisfy the requirements of Rule 60(b) . First, the motion was untimely filed. A motion under Rule 60(b)(3) (gro unded on fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct of an adverse party) must be brought with one year of the judgment, and, otherwise, a Rule 60(b) motion must be brought within a reaso nable time after the judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1). Groeber’s moti on was not brought within one year of the judgment, nor was it brought within a reasonable time after that judgment. 1 Moreover, e ven if the motion had been timely filed, we agree with the District Court that Groeber failed to demonstrate that she was en titled to relief. A party may be relieved from a final judgment or order where an adverse party committed fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct that prevented the litigant from fully and fairly presenting her case. Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(3) ; Strid iron v. Stridiron , 698 F.2d 205, 207 ( 3d Cir. 1983) . A movant under Rule 60(b) bears a heavy burden to present “more than a showing of the potential significance of the new evidence.” Bohus v. Beloff , 950 F.2d 919, 930 (3d Cir. 1991) (citation omitted). These motions are only granted where

1 The one year limitations period was not tolled by Groeber’s appeal to this Court.5

extraordinary justifying circumstances are present. Id. Groeber did not meet her heavy burden of demonstrating that Freidman’ s alleged actions during earlier proceedings in this case amount ed to fraud or misconduct. 2 Nor did she adequately demonstrate that the alleged misconduct prevented her from fully and fairly presenting her case. 3 Accordingly, we will affirm

.

Moolenaar v. Gov’t of the V.I. , 822 F.2d 1342, 1346 n.5 (3d Cir. 1987). 2 For example, Groeber claimed that Friedman engaged in ex parte communications with the District Court, but she presented no evidence whatsoever substantiating that claim. She also alleged that Friedman made various misstatements of fact at a hearing on Friedman’s motion to dismiss but again failed to substantiate these allegations with any evidentiary support. Moreover, these were all arguments that Groeber could have raised on appeal. It is well established that a Rule 60(b) motion may not be used as a substitute for an appeal, see Smith v. Evans , 853 F.2d 155, 158 (3d Cir. 1988) , or as a means of seeking review of this Court’s previous opinion in the case, see Reform Party v. Allegheny Cnty. Dep’t of Elections , 174 F.3d 305, 312 (3d Cir. 1999) (en banc)

.
3 To the extent that Groeber also alleged misconduct on the part of the Dis trict Court, she could not proceed under Rule 60(b)(3)

. Rather, a lleged misconduct of the District Court may be remedied by a motion pursuant to Rule 60(b)(6) “in extraordinary circumstances where, without such relief, an extreme and unexpected hardship w ould occur.” Sawka v. Healtheast, Inc. , 98 9 F.2d 138, 140 (3d Cir. 1993)

. Groeber ’s motion made no concrete allegations of misconduct and primarily addressed the District Court’s rulings that were adverse to her. Accordingly, she did not demonstrate ext raordinary circumstances warranting relief. To the extent that Groeber also alleged in her motion that this Court engaged in misconduct in deciding her appeal from the dismissal of her complaint , the District Court did not have the authority to grant her relief with respect to those proceeding s
.