Court Opinion

ID: 9916781
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-10 17:08:35.753168+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:58.884509
License: Public Domain

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Clay Caldwell,                                    :
                        Appellant                 :
                                                  :
                 v.                               :
                                                  :    No. 26 C.D. 2022
Sec. John Wetzel, et al.                          :    Submitted: December 4, 2023

BEFORE:          HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge
                 HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge
                 HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Senior Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY
JUDGE COVEY                                                     FILED: January 10, 2024

                 Clay Caldwell (Caldwell) appeals from the Centre County (County)
Common Pleas Court’s (trial court) September 16, 2021 order1 revoking his in forma
pauperis (IFP) status,2 and November 29, 2021 order dismissing his Complaint in
Mandamus against Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel

        1
            The trial court’s September 16, 2021 order was entered on the docket on September 17,
2021.
        2
          Section 5571(b) of the Judicial Code provides: “[A]n appeal from . . . a [trial] court to an
appellate court must be commenced within 30 days after the entry of the order from which the
appeal is taken, in the case of a[] . . . final order.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b). “[A]n order denying
[IFP] status is a final, appealable order.” Grant v. Blaine, 868 A.2d 400, 403 (Pa. 2005); see also
Pelzer v. Wolf (Pa. Cmwlth. No. 472 C.D. 2019, filed March 9, 2020), slip op. at 1 n.1 (quoting
Grant, 868 A.2d at 401-02) (“In Grant . . . , our Supreme Court held that an order denying IFP
status is a final, appealable order because ‘[a] litigant who is denied the ability to bring a cause of
action due to his true inability to pay the costs is effectively put out of court.’”).
        Unreported decisions of this Court issued after January 15, 2008, may be cited as
persuasive authority pursuant to Section 414(a) of this Court’s Internal Operating Procedures. 210
Pa. Code § 69.414(a). Because Caldwell did not timely appeal from the trial court’s September
16, 2021 order, it is not properly before this Court. Therefore, this Court is without jurisdiction to
address it.
and numerous other individuals (collectively, Defendants) (Complaint).3 The sole
issue before this Court is whether the trial court properly dismissed the Complaint.
After review, this Court affirms.
               On April 26, 2021, Caldwell filed his Complaint in the trial court
alleging therein: (1) Defendants violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment to
the United States (U.S.) Constitution (Eighth Amendment) arising from conditions
of confinement, sexual harassment, and denial of medical care;4 (2) Defendants
violated his rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (First
Amendment) by retaliating against him for filing inmate prison grievances; 5 (3)
Defendants violated the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act;6 and (4)
Defendants committed various state torts against him. Contemporaneously with the
filing of his Complaint, Caldwell filed an Affidavit of IFP, which the trial court
granted on May 3, 2021.

       3
          Caldwell filed the Complaint against Defendants Secretary John Wetzel, the Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections, Chief Grievance Coordinator Dorina Varner, Assistant Chief
Grievance Coordinator Keri Moore, Chief Hearing Examiner Zachary Moslak, Hearing Examiner
Scott Ellenberger, Regional Deputy Secretary Robert Marsh, Superintendent Morris Houser,
Corrections Classification Program Manager Jennifer Rossman, Captain Larry Hoffman, Deputy
Superintendent Bradley Booher, former Captain Kevin Holmberg, Lieutenant Samuel Jackson,
Corrections Officer Shayne Bierly, Corrections Officer Thomas Stoner, former Sergeant Michael
Smithhower, Corrections Officer Joseph Treaster, former Corrections Officer William Frazier,
Sergeant Matthew Kissell, Corrections Officer Coty Bonnell, Corrections Officer Glenn Haines,
Unit Manager Melissa Urbanick, Unit Manager Clay Cameron, Counselor Bradley Snyder,
Sergeant John Eckenrode (detached), Corrections Health Care Administrator Jeffrey Boland,
Principal Nadine Ramirez, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Specialist Courtney McCoy (Baronner),
and Dr. Kevin Kollman.
        4
          The Eighth Amendment provides: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” U.S. CONST. amend. VIII.
        5
          The First Amendment declares: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.” U.S. CONST. amend. I.
        6
          Act of December 22, 2005, P.L. 474, as amended, 72 P.S. §§ 2301-2330.
                                                 2
                On June 2, 2021, Defendants filed preliminary objections to the
Complaint, therein, inter alia, requesting that the trial court revoke Caldwell’s IFP
status and dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Section 6602(f) of the Prison Litigation
Reform Act (PLRA), 42 Pa.C.S. § 6602(f).7 On September 16, 2021, because the
trial court determined that Caldwell was an abusive litigator, and he was not in
imminent danger of serious bodily injury, the trial court revoked Caldwell’s IFP
status. The trial court further directed Caldwell to pay the $177.25 Complaint filing
fee to the County Prothonotary within 30 days of the date of its order, or his
Complaint would be dismissed with prejudice. On October 5, 2021, the trial court,
in light of U.S. Postal Service delays and their effect on the prison mail system,
granted Caldwell a 30-day extension to pay the $177.25 filing fee to the County
Prothonotary. The trial court again directed that if Caldwell failed to pay the full
amount of the filing fee within 30 days of the date of its order, his Complaint would

       7
           Section 6602(f) of the PLRA provides:
                Abusive litigation.--If the prisoner has previously filed prison
                conditions litigation and:
                (1) three or more of these prior civil actions have been dismissed
                pursuant to subsection (e)(2); or
                (2) the prisoner has previously filed prison conditions litigation
                against a person named as a defendant in the instant action or a
                person serving in the same official capacity as a named defendant
                and a court made a finding that the prior action was filed in bad faith
                or that the prisoner knowingly presented false evidence or testimony
                at a hearing or trial;
                the court may dismiss the action. The court shall not, however,
                dismiss a request for preliminary injunctive relief or a temporary
                restraining order which makes a credible allegation that the prisoner
                is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.
42 Pa.C.S. § 6602(f).
                                                   3
be dismissed with prejudice, and no further extensions would be provided.8 On
November 29, 2021, the trial court dismissed Caldwell’s Complaint pursuant to
Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure (Civil Rule) 240(j)(2),9 and dismissed all of
his other pending petitions with prejudice. On December 6, 2021, Caldwell appealed
to this Court from both orders.10
               Caldwell argues that the trial court erred by revoking his IFP status.11
However, Caldwell did not timely appeal from the trial court’s order revoking his

       8
         On October 1, 2021, Caldwell filed a Petition for Leave to File Supplemental Amended
Complaint, a Motion for an Order of Stay, and a Motion for an Extension of Time of 90 days,
which the trial court denied on October 8, 2021, pursuant to its previous orders.
       9
         Civil Rule 240(j)(2) states:
               If the petitioner commences the action by writ of summons, the court
               shall not act on the petition for leave to proceed [IFP] until the
               complaint is filed. If the complaint has not been filed within [90]
               days of the filing of the petition, the court may dismiss the action
               pursuant to subdivision (j)(1).
Pa.R.Civ.P. 240(j)(2). It appears that the trial court inadvertently referenced Civil Rule 240(j)(2),
rather than Section 6602(f) of the PLRA, as the trial court did not reference Civil Rule 240(j)(2)
in either its September 16, 2021 order revoking Caldwell’s IFP status, or in its opinion.
        10
            On February 14, 2022, the trial court issued an order stating that Caldwell was not
required to file a Concise Statement of Errors Complained of on Appeal pursuant to Pennsylvania
Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925(b) because it believed Caldwell’s notice of appeal made clear
the matters complained of on appeal, and the trial court had sufficiently addressed said matters in
its September 16, 2021 opinion and order.
        “Our review of the trial court’s decision is limited to a determination of whether
constitutional rights were violated, or whether the trial court abused its discretion or committed an
error of law.” Brown v. Beard, 11 A.3d 578, 582 n.5 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010). Further, a trial court
has inherent power to enforce its own orders, and an appellate court will not interfere with the
enforcement absent an abuse of discretion. See Commonwealth v. Shaffer, 712 A.2d 749 (Pa.
1998). A trial court need not overlook a party’s failure to comply with its order or accept payment
of costs tendered well beyond the court-ordered deadline. See Konya v. Dist. Att’y of Northampton
Cnty., 669 A.2d 890 (Pa. 1995).
        11
           Caldwell also argues that the trial court erred by denying his Motion for Summary Relief
and his Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint (collectively, Motions), however,
because the trial court dismissed Caldwell’s Complaint, both Motions were deemed moot.
Accordingly, the trial court did not err.
                                                 4
IFP status; rather, he only timely appealed from the trial court’s order dismissing his
Complaint.12
               In Lopez v. Haywood, 41 A.3d 184 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2012), this Court
explained that while a trial court may revoke a prisoner’s IFP status based on Section
6602(f) of the PLRA, the trial court must provide the prisoner

               a reasonable opportunity to “proceed” with his already-
               begun prison conditions litigation by paying his filing fees
               and costs before dismissing the matter in its entirety.
               However, if [the prisoner] does not pay the fees [and]
               costs associated with the filed [complaint] as directed
               by the trial court, the matter should be dismissed.

Lopez, 41 A.3d at 188-89 (emphasis added).
               Here, the trial court revoked Caldwell’s IFP status and gave him 30
days to pay the filing fee, and thereafter granted him a 30-day extension to pay it. In
his brief to this Court, Caldwell does not argue that he should have been granted
more time or that he paid the fee. The law is well settled that “[w]hen a [prisoner’s]
[IFP] status is revoked, a court may dismiss the [prisoner’s] complaint if the
[prisoner] thereafter fails to pay the filing fees and costs associated with the
litigation.” Richardson v. Dep’t of Corr., 97 A.3d 430, 432 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2014),
affirmed, 110 A.3d 994 (Pa. 2015) (quoting Brown v. Pa. Dep’t of Corr., 58 A.3d
118, 121 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2012)). Accordingly, the trial court properly dismissed
Caldwell’s Complaint because he failed to pay the filing fee.13

       12
           Notwithstanding, this Court discerns no error in the trial court’s revocation of Caldwell’s
IFP status based on its determination that Caldwell was an abusive litigator, and he was not in
imminent danger of serious bodily injury. On November 20, 2023, Caldwell filed a Petition to
Inform the Court (Petition), “to inform this [] [C]ourt of the recent orders of the [Pennsylvania]
Superior Court . . . .” Petition at 1. Because it appears that the orders may be relevant to the trial
court’s order revoking Caldwell’s IFP status, and that order is not properly before this Court, this
Court will not address the Petition.
        13
           This Court may affirm a trial court’s order based on other grounds. See Medina v.
Harrisburg Sch. Dist., 273 A.3d 33 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2022).

                                                  5
For all of the above reasons, the trial court’s order is affirmed.

                           _________________________________
                           ANNE E. COVEY, Judge

                              6
          IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Clay Caldwell,                         :
                   Appellant           :
                                       :
             v.                        :
                                       :   No. 26 C.D. 2022
Sec. John Wetzel, et al.               :

                                  ORDER

             AND NOW, this 10th day of January, 2024, the Centre County Common
Pleas Court’s November 29, 2021 order is affirmed.

                                     _________________________________
                                     ANNE E. COVEY, Judge