Brandon Moody v. Jude Conroy

680 F. App'x 140
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedFebruary 28, 2017
Docket16-1018
StatusUnpublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 680 F. App'x 140 (Brandon Moody v. Jude Conroy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brandon Moody v. Jude Conroy, 680 F. App'x 140 (3d Cir. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION *

PER CURIAM

Brandon Moody appeals pro se from the District Court’s orders dismissing his complaint as time-barred and denying his motion for reconsideration of that dismissal. We grant Moody’s motion to file a consolidated reply brief, and will vacate and remand for further proceedings in the District Court.

Moody’s second amended complaint sets out the following allegations. Moody was detained pre-trial at the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility on May 14, 2008, when correctional officers at the facility seized his mail and personal property, including privileged communications with his attorney. The officers represented at the time that they were seizing the property pursuant to a court order. Moody was present during the seizure and objected to the officers that no court order should include privileged communications or legal materials. Moody reluctantly complied, but immediately after the seizure he brought his concerns to the attention of a lieutenant at the prison, requesting a copy of the purported court order and a confiscation receipt. Moody never received a copy of any court order or subpoena.

On May 19 and 20, 2008, the state trial court held hearings prior to Moody’s criminal trial that provided additional information about the seizure. Moody alleged that he was not present at either hearing, although transcripts filed with his complaint indicate that he was present on May 20. Detectives John Verrechio and Thomas Gaul had apparently requested the seizure of Moody’s papers. Verrechio collected the seized materials from the prison lieutenant and gave them to Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy, who was prosecuting Moody in his criminal ease. No subpoena justifying the seizure was produced at either hearing.

None of Moody’s legal materials were returned until after the trial, and the materials that were returned at that time were incomplete. Moody was convicted on May 23, 2008, and remains incarcerated.

*142 About two years later, Moody brought a pro se federal civil rights suit against Ver-rechio, Gual, and Conroy. Moody prepared an in forma pauperis application and complaint that were signed on May 19, 2010. Compl., D. Ct. Doc. No. 10, at 13. He included a certificate of service that invoked the prison mailbox rule and was signed on May 20, 2010. Compl, D. Ct. Doc. No. 10-2, at 47. Moody represented that he gave the documents to prison officials for copying on May 19 or May 20, 2010, and for mailing on May 21, 2010. Mot. for Recons., D. Ct. Doc. No. 67, at 14, 20-21. The prison charged Moody for postage on May 21. Mot. for Recons., D. Ct. Doc. No. 67, at 21. The filing was then stamped as filed and docketed in the District Court on May 24, 2010.

Eventually, the District Court appointed counsel to represent Moody. Counsel filed a second amended complaint, in which Moody alleged that Conroy, Verrechio, and Gaul had ordered the seizure in violation of his First, Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment constitutional rights. Moody also alleged that the defendants’ actions amounted to a civil conspiracy to deprive him of constitutional protections, malicious abuse of process, and a civil conspiracy to commit malicious abuse of process.

The defendants filed motions to dismiss on multiple grounds, including that the two-year statute of limitations had passed before Moody filed suit. The District Court granted the motions on statute of limitations grounds, finding that Moody had filed his complaint on May 24, 2010. Although the District Court did not reach the merits of the complaint itself, it observed that, “[tjhough the law requires dismissal of Plaintiffs claims, the allegations in the Second Amended Complaint are troubling. The Court urges the proper entities to investigate and, if necessary, discipline any individuals who acted improperly in seizing Moody’s materials.” Mem., Oct. 30, 2015, D. Ct. Doc. No. 5, at 5 n.l. Moody then filed a pro se motion for reconsideration in which he argued that the prison mailbox rule should apply to his filings, but the District Court denied the motion without discussion. This appeal followed.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and exercise plenary review over a dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Howard Hess Dental Labs. Inc. v. Dentsply Int'l, Inc., 602 F.3d 237, 246 (3d Cir. 2010). When considering a motion to dismiss, we construe a pro se plaintiffs pleadings liberally. See Dluhos v. Strasberg, 321 F.3d 365, 369 (3d Cir. 2003). We review a district court’s order denying a motion for reconsideration for an abuse of discretion. Max’s Seafood Café ex rel. Lou-Ann, Inc. v. Quinteros, 176 F.3d 669, 673 (3d Cir. 1999). “The scope of a motion for reconsideration ... is extremely limited[,]” and should “be used only to correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence.” Blystone v. Horn, 664 F.3d 397, 415 (3d Cir. 2011). 1

First, we consider the applicable statute of limitations. Here, Pennsylvania’s two-year personal injury statute of limitations applies to Moody’s § 1983 action. See Sameric Corp. of Del., Inc. v. City of Phila., 142 F.3d 582, 599 (3d Cir. 1998).

Second, we consider when Moody’s cause of action accrued. Federal law governs the accrual of a § 1983 claim, which *143 occurs when a litigant knows or has reason to know of the injury that is the basis of the action. Montgomery v. De Simone, 159 F.3d 120, 126 (3d Cir. 1998). In other words, “[ajccrual is the occurrence of damages caused by a wrongful act—when a plaintiff has a complete and present cause of action, that is, when the plaintiff can file suit and obtain relief,” Dique v. N.J. State Police, 603 F.3d 181, 185 (3d Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “‘[T]he tort cause of action accrues, and the statute of limitations commences to run, when the wrongful act or omission results in damages. The cause of action accrues even though the full extent of the injury is not then known or predictable.’ ” Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 391, 127 S.Ct. 1091, 166 L.Ed.2d 973 (2007) (quoting 1 C. Corman, Limitation of Actions § 7.4.1, pp. 526-27 (1991)); see also Estate of Lagano v. Bergen Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 769 F.3d 850, 860-61 (3d Cir. 2014) (concluding that the cause of action accrued when there was awareness of the search and seizure, not knowledge of the illegality of it). Here, Moody alleged that he was present at the seizure and objected that it encompassed privileged materials.

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Bluebook (online)
680 F. App'x 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brandon-moody-v-jude-conroy-ca3-2017.