2015 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

7-22-2015

Janice Haagensen v. Michael Wherry

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Recommended Citation

"Janice Haagensen v. Michael Wherry" (2015). 2015 Decisions. Paper 784.

http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/thirdcircuit_2015/784
NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT 

_____________

No. 14-4301

_____________

JANICE S. HAAGENSEN, 

Personal Representative of the Estate of 

Myrtle Shelburne Haagensen,

 Appellant

v.

MICHAEL J. WHERRY, Visiting Judge, 

Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, 

in his official and individual capacities; 

BETTY MAY REED; EDWARD ABERSOLD;

ANNIE AND RUFUS K. HERSHBERGER; 

RICHARD RAPONE, Tax Collector of Lawrence County; 

J.R HARDESTER, Director of Assessments of Lawrence County; 

KAREN MAGNONE, Property Tax Collector of North Beaver 

Township, in an individual and official capacity 

 

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Pennsylvania

District Court No. 2-14-cv-00495

District Judge: The Honorable Arthur J. Schwab

 

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)

July 13, 2015

Before: SMITH, GREENAWAY, JR., and SHWARTZ, Circuit Judges.

(Filed: July 22, 2015)

_____________________

 OPINION*

_____________________ 

 

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

 

* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not 

constitute binding precedent.
2

Appellant Janice Haagensen is the personal representative of the estate of her 

mother, Myrtle Haagensen (collectively referred to as Haagensen), who owned 

approximately 70 acres in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. The southern border of 

Haagensen’s land abutted parcels of land owned separately by Edward Abersold and 

Betty May Reed. Reed accessed her land by a driveway that traveled in the vicinity of 

this border. The driveway also happened to be in the proximity of the municipal 

boundary line between North Beaver Township on which the Haagensen land was 

situated and Little Beaver Township where the Abersold and Reed parcels were located. 

Haagensen filed a quiet title action in state court, alleging that the driveway was in North 

Beaver Township on Haagensen’s land. Abersold, Reed, and Reed’s successors Annie 

and Rufus K. Hershberger, who purchased Reed’s farm during the pendency of the quiet 

title action, asserted the driveway was on their land. 

On April 13, 2011, Judge Michael Wherry issued a decision in favor of Abersold, 

Reed, and the Hershbergers.1 Judge Wherry concluded that Haagensen had failed to 

establish a “right to immediate exclusive possession” of the driveway as required to 

prevail in a quiet title action. A135.

Haagensen appealed, but the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court dismissed the 

appeal as untimely. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Haagensen’s petition for 

allowance of appeal.

 

1 According to a suggestion of death filed on June 4, 2015, Judge Wherry died on or 

about January 29, 2015. Because no estate has yet to be opened, there is no party to 
3

On April 16, 2014, Haagensen filed a complaint in the United States District Court 

for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging civil rights violations. She sued Reed, 

her successors the Hershbergers, and Abersold (collectively the Neighbor Defendants),

and Judge Wherry. In addition, Haagensen sued the Tax Collector of Lawrence County, 

the Director of Assessments of Lawrence County and the Property Tax Collector for 

North Beaver Township (collectively the Tax Defendants). All of the defendants filed 

motions to dismiss the complaint. The Magistrate Judge prepared a report, 

recommending the dismissal of the complaint based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.

2

 

Additionally, the Magistrate Judge concluded that, if the suit was not barred under 

Rooker-Feldman, judicial immunity barred the claim against Judge Wherry. The 

Magistrate Judge concluded that the action also was barred by the statute of limitations. 

The District Court adopted the report and recommendation. A timely notice of appeal 

was filed after the District Court denied a timely motion for reconsideration.3 

We will affirm the judgment of the District Court.4 The Rooker-Feldman doctrine 

bars Haagensen’s claims against the Neighbor Defendants.5 See Great W. Mining & 

 

substitute and we will continue to refer to Judge Wherry. Moreover, because we will 

affirm the dismissal of all claims, the motion to amend the caption is moot.

2 The doctrine draws its name from Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923), 

and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983). 

3 The District Court exercised jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. We have jurisdiction 

under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review of the District Court’s application 

of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Turner v. Crawford Square Apartments III, L.P., 449 

F.3d 542, 547 (3d Cir. 2006). We also exercise “plenary review over an order granting a 

Rule 12(b)(6) motion.” Mariotti v. Mariotti Bldg. Prods. Inc., 714 F.3d 761, 765 (3d Cir. 

2013).

4 We reject Haagensen’s contention that the District Court erred by considering the state 

court opinion and judgment. As the Magistrate Judge explained, consideration of these 
4

Mineral Co. v. Fox Rothschild LLP, 615 F.3d 159, 166 (3d Cir. 2010) (breaking down the 

holding of Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280 (2005)). The 

factual allegations strongly support the conclusion that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine also 

bars the claims against Judge Wherry. We need not decide that question, however, as 

Judge Wherry is absolutely immune from suit. Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa., 211 F.3d 

760, 768-69 (3d Cir. 2000). 

As to the Tax Defendants, we are not convinced that Rooker-Feldman bars the 

claims against them. Nonetheless, we may affirm for any reason supported by the record. 

Nicini v. Morra, 212 F.3d 798, 805 (3d Cir. 2000). The complaint does not allege any 

conduct that would demonstrate that the Tax Defendants deprived Haagensen of her 

constitutional rights. Thus, we conclude that the claims against the Tax Defendants were 

appropriately dismissed because they did not assert a claim on which relief may be 

granted. See Rode v. Dellarciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir. 1988) (instructing that 

a “defendant in a civil rights action must have personal involvement in the alleged 

wrongs”).

For the above reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.

 

documents was permissible because they were items referred to in the Complaint, copies 

of which were attached for convenience to the motion. A82. See Pension Trust Fund for 

Operating Eng’rs v. Mortg. Asset Securitization Transactions, Inc., 730 F.3d 263, 271 

(3d Cir. 2013); see also Oshiver v. Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, 38 F.3d 1380, 

1384 n.2 (3d Cir. 1994).

5 The District Court also concluded that the claims against Judge Wherry and the Tax 

Defendants were barred by Rooker-Feldman. The Magistrate Judge concluded that 

Haagensen’s claims were barred because they were “‘inextricably intertwined’ with the 

state court action.” A85. We reiterate our observation in Great Western Mining that in 
5

 

Exxon Mobil the Supreme Court did not rely on the “inextricably intertwined” 

formulation and we again caution against employing that analysis. 615 F.3d at 168-69.