Opinion ID: 218487
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dismissal of the fourth amended complaint

Text: We will summarily affirm the dismissal of Hoffenberg’s fourth amended complaint with prejudice because his appeal of that aspect of the District Court’s order presents “no substantial question.” 3d Cir. LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6. To the extent that certain claims for relief can be gleaned from the language of Hoffenberg’s overwrought pleadings, the District Court properly concluded that he failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii); Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). An inmate claiming denial of access to the courts must show actual injury, Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 349 (1996), which generally arises only if a non-frivolous claim was lost due to a defendant’s actions. Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 415 (2002). Despite four opportunities to amend, Hoffenberg nowhere pleaded an actual injury in any litigation, including the present case. Hoffenberg’s allegation that his legal papers were confiscated, which somehow allegedly prevented him from filing what he calls the “Devens Medical Prison lawsuit,” is insufficient to state a claim for relief. Hoffenberg’s other purported claims fare no better. His assertions of medical malpractice and negligent care on the part of prison doctors are not cognizable in a Bivens action. See Rouse v. Plantier, 182 F.3d 192, 197 (3d Cir. 1999) (“[C]laims of negligence or medical malpractice, without some more culpable state of mind, do not 7 constitute ‘deliberate indifference.’”). His claim that defendants “obstructed” his effort to obtain § 2241 habeas relief fails. As the District Court fully explained, the prison officials’ alleged failure to respond to Hoffenberg’s grievances is immaterial, as Hoffenberg could meet the exhaustion requirement “regardless of whether or not he received any responses from the lower-level administrators.” Docket # 18 at ¶ 12(a). Hoffenberg’s allusion to a claim based on his move from the general prison population to solitary confinement is insufficient. Hoffenberg makes no allegation suggesting that he was “subjected to confinement that exceeded the sentence[] imposed upon [him] or that otherwise violated the Constitution,” Fraise v. Terhune, 283 F.3d 506, 522 (3d Cir. 2002), and there is no indication that his transfer imposed an “atypical and significant hardship on the inmate in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life.” Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 484 (1995). Hoffenberg’s claim challenging the denial of his release to home confinement was raised in his prior § 2241 habeas proceeding, and was not properly reasserted in this civil rights suit. See, e.g., Izzo v. Wiley, 620 F.3d 1257, 1258 (10th Cir. 2010). Hoffenberg’s blanket assertions of “fraud” and “retaliation” by prison officials are insufficient. “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009) (quotation marks omitted). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. Hoffenberg’s pleadings are devoid of allegations to support a finding of facial plausibility on these claims. 8 Finally, Hoffenberg’s efforts to seek recusal of the District Judge, and to name her as a defendant to this suit, were properly rejected. Hoffenberg claims bias and misconduct based on his disagreement with the District Court’s rulings in this case. “We have repeatedly stated that a party’s displeasure with legal rulings does not form an adequate basis for recusal[.]” Securacomm Consulting v. Securacom, 224 F.3d 273, 278 (3d Cir. 2000). Further, courts have recognized that, to guard against “judge-shopping,” a district judge is not required to recuse when sued by the plaintiff unless there is a legitimate basis for suing the judge. See, e.g., United States v. Pryor, 960 F.2d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 1992) (“It cannot be that an automatic recusal can be obtained by the simple act of suing the judge.”); United States v. Studley, 783 F.2d 934, 940 (9th Cir. 1986) (“A judge is not disqualified by a litigant’s suit or threatened suit against him, or by a litigant’s intemperate and scurrilous attacks.”) (citations omitted). Hoffenberg’s baseless decision to name the District Judge as a defendant did not warrant recusal. As to any remaining claim that Hoffenberg might have sought to assert in this action, the District Court correctly dismissed for failure to comply with federal pleading standards, the requirements of which the District Court repeatedly and patiently explained to Hoffenberg throughout the course of this case. Among other things, Hoffenberg failed to plead “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that [he] is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Hoffenberg’s attempts at pleading were neither short nor plain, and the District Court fairly characterized them as “volumes of self-serving patchy tirades.” Hoffenberg’s inexplicable failure to plead in conformity with the rules, despite 9 four chances to amend, supports the denial of further leave to amend. We conclude that the fourth amended complaint was properly dismissed with prejudice.