Source: http://pa.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150220_0000254.MPA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 16:22:36+00:00

Document:
C.O. EIDEM, et al., Defendants.
EDWIN M. KOSIK, District Judge.
This civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 proceeds on an amended complaint filed by Nathaniel Adderly. (Doc. 33). On February 18, 2014, the court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint. (Docs. 48, 49.) Pending is Plaintiff's motion seeking reconsideration of the court's decision. For the reasons that follow, the motion will be denied.
Plaintiff filed his original complaint on April 13, 2011. The complaint was dated April 10, 2011. Named as Defendants were numerous employees at the State Correctional Institution at Frackville, Pennsylvania, and Dorina Varner, Chief Grievance Officer for the Department of Corrections. Plaintiff set forth numerous claims against them including excessive force, retaliation, denial of food and food tampering, sexually-motivated frisk searches and due process violations. (Doc. 1.) The claims spanned the time period from October of 2007 though April 24, 2010, the date Plaintiff was transferred from SCI-Frackville.
On August 6, 2012, the court granted a motion to dismiss portions of the complaint filed by Defendants. (Docs. 17, 18.) In this opinion, the following claims were dismissed, without leave to amend: all claims set forth against Defendant Varner, the Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Kufro, and all claims set forth in the complaint arising prior to April 10, 2009. Plaintiff was given leave to file an amended complaint, however, with respect to his claims against the other Defendants named in the complaint. He was also cautioned that in the amended complaint he must include the two claims Defendants did not move to dismiss from the complaint (the Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Wiedow and the retaliation claim against Defendant Kufro).
Following the court's resolution of the motion to dismiss the amended complaint, the following claims are proceeding: (1) excessive force claim of 2/24/10 against Defendant Eidem; (2) retaliatory misconduct claim of 4/10/09 against Defendants Cowher and Glenn; (3) withholding of food claim from 4/10/09 through 4/29/10 against Defendant Alshefski; (4) excessive force claim of January 2010 against Defendant Resendes; (5) the food tampering claim of 2/27/10 against Defendant Wiedow; and (6) the sexual frisks claim between 4/10/09 and 4/10/10 and the withholding of food claim between 4/10/09 and 4/29/10 against Defendant Reno.
On March 3, 2014, Plaintiff filed a motion for reargument and/or reconsideration of the court's resolution of Defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint. (Doc. 51.) The sole focus of Plaintiff's motion is his belief that he is entitled to equitable tolling of the statute of limitations with respect to certain claims arising prior to April 10, 2009.
The purpose of a motion for reconsideration "is to correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence." Kabacinski v. Bostrom Seating, Inc., 98 F.Appx. 78, 81 (3d Cir. 2004)(quoting Harsco Corp. v. Zlotnicki, 779 F.2d 906, 909 (3d Cir. 1985)). Because "federal courts have a strong interest in the finality of judgments, " United States v. Hoey, No. 09-200, 2011 WL 748152, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 15, 2011)(citation omitted), the standard that must be met to prevail on a motion for reconsideration is high, see Berry v. Jacobs IMC, LLC, 99 F.Appx. 405, 410 (3d Cir. 2004).
The court may grant a motion for reconsideration if the moving party shows: (1) an intervening change in the controlling law; (2) the availability of new evidence which was not available when the court issued its order; or (3) the need to correct a clear error of law or fact or to prevent a manifest injustice. United States v. Banks, Crim. No. 03-245, 2008 WL 5429620, at *1 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 31, 2008)(citing Max's Seafood Cafe by Lou-Ann, Inc. v. Quinteros, 176 F.3d 669, 677 (3d Cir. 1999)). Motions for reconsideration are not a tool to re-litigate and reargue issues which have already been considered and disposed of by the court, see Hoey, 2011 WL 748152, at *2 (citation omitted), or for addressing arguments that a party should have raised earlier, see United States v. Dupree, 617 F.3d 724, 732-33 (3d Cir. 2010)(quotations omitted). Rather, such a motion is appropriate only where the court misunderstood a party or where there has been a significant change in law or facts since the court originally ruled on that issue. Hoey, 2011 WL 748152, at *2. The mere dissatisfaction with the court's ruling is not a proper basis for reconsideration. Progressive Cas. Ins. Co. v. PNC Bank, N.A., 73 F.Supp.2d 485, 487 (E.D. Pa. 1999).

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