Robert Harry Esser v. Walter Weller (Guard) State Correctional Institution Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

467 F.2d 949, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 7263

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Decided: October 6, 1972
• Docket: 71-1980
• Status: Published

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM:

Plaintiff, an inmate at the Hunting-don Correctional Institution, has appealed from an order of the district court dismissing his civil rights action against Walter Weller, a guard, as frivolous and without merit.

The complaint broadly charges, inter alia, that Weller harassed the plaintiff by threatening him; that he caused mental distress by assigning the plaintiff to a cell below the cell of a boister ous prisoner; and that Weller took away plaintiff’s notes of testimony.

This court has stressed that complaints in civil rights cases must “contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim . . . and the relief . . .” sought. F.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) and (3); Gaito v. Ellenbogen, 425 F.2d 845 (3d Cir. 1970).

The broad and conclusory statements made in plaintiff’s complaint are not supported by specific factual allegations. 1 Therefore, the complaint fails to meet the test set forth in Ne-grich v. Hohn, 379 F.2d 213 (3d Cir. 1967), that a complaint must specifically state facts in support of its conclusions in order to avoid a motion to dismiss. See Kauffman v. Moss, 420 F.2d 1270 (3d Cir. 1970).

The order of the district court will be affirmed.

1 . Plaintiff’s complaint contains the allegation that “Defendant . . . took away plaintiff’s Legal-document (Notes of Testimony), for same was in plaintiff’s personal belongings prior to plaintiff sitting on the bench in the Guard-Room.” This may have occurred on or about May 2, 1971, when plaintiff was being “com-mittecl to the punishment block.”