Paul McArdle v. Joseph Hufnagel

588 F. App'x 118
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedOctober 16, 2014
Docket13-1841
StatusUnpublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 588 F. App'x 118 (Paul McArdle v. Joseph Hufnagel) 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
Paul McArdle v. Joseph Hufnagel, 588 F. App'x 118 (3d Cir. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

AMBRO, Circuit Judge.

Paul J. McArdle appeals the District Court’s March 14, 2013, Order dismissing (i) with prejudice his' claim that defendants-appellees (“Appellees”) conspired to deprive him of his civil rights and (ii) without prejudice his pendent state-law claims. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Background

McArdle filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against 36 defendants. He claimed that Appellees conspired to hinder. his ability “to earn a livelihood though the practice of law; to interfere with a normal life; and to cause him other severe damages,” purportedly in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). Compl. at ¶ 56. McArdle also brought counts of trespass, conversion, trespass to chattel, and defamation under Pennsylvania law.

Appellees filed six Motions to Dismiss for failure to state a claim and lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), 12(b)(1). The Magistrate Judge filed a Report and Recommendation (“R & R”) that the Motions be granted. She held that McArdle’s federal claim was without merit, and that the District Court lacked diversity jurisdiction and should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims. After de novo review, the District Court approved and adopted the R & R.

On appeal McArdle raises five issues: (1) his Complaint meets the pleading standards of Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct.. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); (2) the Magistrate Judge lacked the authority to render her R & R; (3) the District Court erred in requiring that McArdle be a member of a protected class to invoke 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3); (4) he is a member of a protected class in any event; and (5) the District Court had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 or should have exercised supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

II. Discussion

The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

In reviewing a district court’s dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6), we apply the same standard that the District Court is required to apply. Kost v. Kozakiewicz, 1 F.3d 176, 183 (3d Cir.1993). “We therefore accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and give the pleader the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be fairly drawn therefrom.” Id. (citing Wisniewski v. Johns-Manville Corp., 759 F.2d 271, 273 (3d Cir.1985)). However, we are not required to “ ‘accept as true unsupported conclusions and unwarranted inferences.’ ” Maio v. Aetna Inc., 221 F.3d 472, 499 (3d Cir.2000) (quoting City of *120 Pittsburgh v. W. Penn Power Co., 147 F.3d 256, 263 n. 13 (3d Cir.1998)).

a.McArdle’s Complaint Does Not State A Plausible Claim For Relief.

McArdle asserts that his Complaint states a claim for relief that is “plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955; Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. As his Complaint is 24 pages and 114 paragraphs long, he argues there is no room for “doubt as to who is being sued, what they did, when they did it, what damage they caused, and what relief is requested.” Appellant’s Br. at 60-61.

We review the substance and not the length of a complaint'. It may be as short as one page, provided it contains facts that, when presumed to be true, lead a court reasonably to infer that the required elements of a claim can be satisfied. In order to plead a conspiracy under § 1985(3), a complaint must contain facts that plausibly allege: (1) a conspiracy; (2) for the purpose of depriving a person or class of persons equal protection under the law or equal privileges and immunities under the law; (3) an act in furtherance of the conspiracy; and (4) injury to a plaintiffs property or his person, or deprivation of a right or privilege of a U.S. citizen. Griffin v. Breckenridge, 403 U.S. 88, 102-03, 91 S.Ct. 1790, 29 L.Ed.2d 338 (1971).

Appellees are all private individuals, not state actors. The Supreme Court has recognized only two rights as protected by § 1985(3) against private conspirators: the right to be free from involuntary servitude and the right to interstate travel. Brown v. Philip Morris, Inc., 250 F.3d 789, 805 (3d Cir.2001). McArdle does not allege Appellees conspired to deprive him of either. Instead, his Complaint alleges that Appellees conspired to injure his ability to earn a living practicing law, to prevent him from having a normal life, and to cause him other damages. We know no authority to extend § 1985(3) to protect earning a living through the practice of law or to having “a normal life.” Thus, the District Court correctly dismissed McAr-dle’s § 1985 claim.

b. The Magistrate Judge Exercised Proper Authority In Issuing Her Report and Recommendation.

McArdle states magistrate judges are not authorized “to hear and determine ... a motion ... to dismiss for failure to state a claim,” as this is a matter reserved solely for Article III judges. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A). He also contends that the District Court failed to show the case was properly referred to the Magistrate Judge per 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), and, in any event, she failed to conduct a hearing before submitting her R & R.

These arguments fail. Magistrate judges may issue reports and recommendations on motions to dismiss under § 636(b)(1)(B).

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Bluebook (online)
588 F. App'x 118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paul-mcardle-v-joseph-hufnagel-ca3-2014.