Case Name: In re: Marvin J. COBB, Petitioner
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2008-09-30
Citations: 296 F. App'x 246
Docket Number: No. 08-3502
Parties: In re: Marvin J. COBB, Petitioner.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 296
Pages: 246–247

Head Matter:
In re: Marvin J. COBB, Petitioner.
No. 08-3502.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R.App. P.
Sept. 30, 2008.
Opinion filed: Oct. 16, 2008.
Before: SCIRICA, Chief Judge, WEIS and GARTH, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
OPINION
PER CURIAM.
Marvin Cobb, a former federal prisoner proceeding pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus in connection with a civil rights action that he filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. We will deny the mandamus petition.
In April 2007, Cobb filed á motion to proceed in forma pauperis in District Court and submitted a complaint alleging discrimination at his prison job based on his disabilities. Cobb claimed violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal statutes. In December 2007, a Magistrate Judge granted the motion to proceed in forma pauperis and ordered that Cobb's complaint be filed. The Magistrate Judge also terminated two motions for summary judgment that Cobb had filed, noting that neither was a proper summary judgment motion. In June 2008, the Magistrate Judge ordered the United States Marshall to serve Cobb's complaint on the defendants.
In his mandamus petition, Cobb complains that the District Court has not compelled the defendants to answer his complaint. He asks us to grant a default judgment in his favor.
The writ of mandamus has traditionally been used to confine an inferior court to a lawful exercise of its prescribed jurisdiction or to compel it to exercise its authori ty when it is its duty to do so. In re Patenaude, 210 F.3d 135, 140 (3d Cir.2000) (citations omitted). The writ is a drastic remedy that is seldom issued and its use is discouraged. Id. A petitioner must show that he has no other means to attain the desired relief and that the right to a writ is clear and indisputable. Id. at 141.
Applying these standards, Cobb is not entitled to relief. Cobb has not sought any relief in the District Court since the Magistrate Judge ordered the United States Marshal to serve his complaint. Cobb may move the District Court for a default judgment based on the defendants' failure to answer his complaint. To the extent the complaint was not served, Cobb may move the District Court to enforce its order directing service of the complaint. Because Cobb has other means to attain the desired relief, mandamus relief is not warranted.
Accordingly, we will deny the petition for a writ of mandamus.
. In the first motion, filed in June 2007, Cobb sought a default judgment because the defendants had not answered his complaint. In the second motion, filed in August 2007, Cobb sought a temporary release from prison for medical treatment. The latter motion appears to be related to another action Cobb had filed alleging deliberate indifference to his medical needs.
. Cobb's previous motion for a default judgment was premature because his complaint had yet to be filed.