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    Henry Washington v. James Grace, 3rd Cir. (2013)

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    This document summarizes a court case involving Henry Unseld Washington filing lawsuits against over 150 defendants alleging a vast conspiracy against him in retaliation for past litigation. The court consolidated the lawsuits into one case. Washington was ordered to submit a revised complaint but requested an 18 month extension to file a 300 page complaint. The court instead ordered the defendants to respond to specific claims identified by the appeals court. At a deposition, Washington refused to answer questions, so the court ordered him to submit to another deposition. At the second deposition, Washington again refused to answer questions. The court dismissed the case with prejudice for Washington's failure to comply with discovery orders, weighing the factors from Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

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    Henry Washington v. James Grace, 3rd Cir. (2013)

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    Scribd Government Docs
    54 views8 pages
    This document summarizes a court case involving Henry Unseld Washington filing lawsuits against over 150 defendants alleging a vast conspiracy against him in retaliation for past litigation. The court consolidated the lawsuits into one case. Washington was ordered to submit a revised complaint but requested an 18 month extension to file a 300 page complaint. The court instead ordered the defendants to respond to specific claims identified by the appeals court. At a deposition, Washington refused to answer questions, so the court ordered him to submit to another deposition. At the second deposition, Washington again refused to answer questions. The court dismissed the case with prejudice for Washington's failure to comply with discovery orders, weighing the factors from Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

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    Filed: 2013-08-09 Precedential Status: Non-Precedential Docket: 13-2356

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    This document summarizes a court case involving Henry Unseld Washington filing lawsuits against over 150 defendants alleging a vast conspiracy against him in retaliation for past litigation. The court consolidated the lawsuits into one case. Washington was ordered to submit a revised complaint but requested an 18 month extension to file a 300 page complaint. The court instead ordered the defendants to respond to specific claims identified by the appeals court. At a deposition, Washington refused to answer questions, so the court ordered him to submit to another deposition. At the second deposition, Washington again refused to answer questions. The court dismissed the case with prejudice for Washington's failure to comply with discovery orders, weighing the factors from Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf
    54 views8 pages

    Henry Washington v. James Grace, 3rd Cir. (2013)

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    This document summarizes a court case involving Henry Unseld Washington filing lawsuits against over 150 defendants alleging a vast conspiracy against him in retaliation for past litigation. The court consolidated the lawsuits into one case. Washington was ordered to submit a revised complaint but requested an 18 month extension to file a 300 page complaint. The court instead ordered the defendants to respond to specific claims identified by the appeals court. At a deposition, Washington refused to answer questions, so the court ordered him to submit to another deposition. At the second deposition, Washington again refused to answer questions. The court dismissed the case with prejudice for Washington's failure to comply with discovery orders, weighing the factors from Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

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    BLD-334

    NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    ___________
    No. 13-2356
    ___________
    HENRY UNSELD WASHINGTON,
    Appellant
    v.

    JAMES L. GRACE; DAVID J. WAKEFIELD; R. M. LAWLER; MELVIN S.


    LOCKETT; DORINA VARNER; S. GLUNT; J. FISHER; K. KAUFFMAN; BARBARA
    HOLLIBAUGH; SCOTT WALTER; M. HARMAN; LT. JOHNSON; G. WALTER; LT.
    BAIRD; LT. R. LALLI; T. HOLTZ; J. EWING; R. COOPER; SGT. JOHNSON; SGT. S.
    MIRABELLA; SGT. BUSKO; MS. AMY R. GINTER; MS. P. GRISSINGER; A.
    STRATTON; DANNILLE GEORGE; YOUNKER; M. B. MCKNIGHT;
    CORRECTIONS OFFICER S. GRASSMEYER; R. PROKOP; L. J. RHODES; M.
    MILLS; F. G. MILLS; M. W. LONG; N. G. BARTLEY; C. V. TADDEI; LEHMAN; C.
    F. YEDOLOSKY; J. K. YOST; D DECKER; G. C. BERGER; CORRECTIONS
    OFFICER D. J. EVERHART; HALL; MR. SHOWALTER; M. D. DONALDSON; R. A.
    STEVER; CORRECTIONS OFFICER M. A. GARZARELLA; J. BARR; N. L. GROVE;
    B. R. SEMPLE; C. L. HAND; A. L. GOODWIN; W. C. COLEGROVE; A. J. JONES; S.
    BRUSH; WHEATLAN; TIMOTHY PROUGH; L. SMITH; B. SMITH; B. BUTLER;
    MCCLAIN; HOSLER; MARY LOU SHOWALTER; DR. ROMEO; DR. ARANEDA;
    DR. SOLOMON; F. KLEMICK; ROBERT ATLMAN; MS. D. MILLS; MS. A.
    BROWN; MS. A. AUMAN; WALTER WILLIAMS, Prison Health Services Nurse
    Supervisor; T. C. GEMBINSKI; HARRY E. WILSON; DEPUTY WARDEN LINDA D.
    HARRIS; DEPUTY WARDEN MARK KRYSEVIG; CAROL SCIRE; EDWARD
    MANCHAS; SCOTT NICKELSON; MICHAEL ZAKEN; CHARLES POWLEY; LT.
    MOZINGO; LT. CRUMB; GEORGE REPOSKY; JON TUSTIN; GARY ABRAMS;
    CHRISTINA SORBIN; ROY BARNES; SGT. SHOMPERT; SNYDER;
    CRUTCHMAN; DOBRYZINSKI; PEASTRACK; KOVAL; RICHTTER; MARK
    POWELL; HAYDEN; D. EVANS; ROBERT TRETINIK; M. HERBIK, Doctor for PHS;
    CHRISTOPHER MEYER; PRISON HEALTH SERVICES, INC; SHARON M.
    BURKS; MICHAEL FARNAN, PA DOC Chief Counsel; ALLAN B. FOGEL;
    WILLIAM S. STICKMAN; JOHN S. SCHAFFER; SHIRLEY MOORE; JEFFREY A.
    BEARD, PA DOC Commissioner; C. RODDY, Corrections Officer - SCI Huntingdon;
    1

    PEER; DARNEY; EBY; KENDRICK; DICKSON; STEVENS; SGT.


    BUMGARDENER; SGT. CLAPPER.; PAIGE; CHILCOT; EBERLING; J. MARTELL;
    MCCLOSKEY, Corrections Officer - SCI Huntingdon; SCHROYER; NELSON; J. J.
    MAINELLO; CAMPBELL; PYLE; WESTOVER; DR. SHOAF; MR. HARRY
    POLAND; KYLE; KYLER; MICHAEL KOLOPOTOSKI, SCI-Dallas Warden; S.
    BOHINSKI, Doctor for PHS; OBRIEN, Physicians Assistant; JOSEPH F.
    MAZURKIEWICZ, SCI Pine Grove Warden; MS. DUREE AHMED, Doctor for PHS;
    LOUIS FOLINO, SCI Greene Warden; MARK CAPOZZA, SCI Deputy Warden;
    JEFFERY MARTIN, SCI Deputy Warden; DANNY DAVIS, SCI Wardens Assistant;
    DIANE THOMAS, SCI Administrative 2; LORINDA WINFIELD, SCI Major; C.
    HAYWOOD, SCI Captain of Security; P. WALKER, SCI RHU Commander; LT.
    DURCO, SCI H-Block Lieutenant; LT. ARMSTRONG, SCI H-Block Lieutenant; SGT.
    FARRIER, SCI H-Block Sergeant; D. SWART, SCI Counselor; IRMA VIHLIDAL, PHS
    Health Care Administrator; NEDRA GREGO, Nurses Supervisor for PHS; JOHN
    MCANANY, Nurses Supervisor for PHS; ROBERT DIETZ, Psychiatric Coordinator for
    PHS; B. JIN, Doctor for PHS; MICHELE ANTANOVICH, Nurse Practitioner for PHS;
    MICHELLE L. HOWARD-DIGGS, Physicians Assistant for PHS; ASSAD KAHN,
    Psychiatrist for PHS; LORI WHITE, PA DOC Deputy Commissioner; J. SMITH,
    Corrections Officer
    ____________________________________
    On Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
    (D.C. Civil No. 4:08-cv-01283)
    District Judge: Honorable John E. Jones, III
    ____________________________________
    Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B)
    or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
    July 11, 2013
    Before: HARDIMAN, GREENAWAY, JR. and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges
    (Opinion filed: August 9, 2013)
    _________
    OPINION
    _________

    PER CURIAM

    When this long-lived litigation was last before us, we were called upon to
    determine whether pro se plaintiff Henry Unseld Washington had successfully pleaded
    claims upon which relief could be granted. It was not an easy task. Washington had filed
    two separate lawsuits in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleging in each the
    existence of a vast, virulent conspiracy that was targeting him in retaliation for his
    outspoken tendencies and past litigation. Over the course of hundreds of separate,
    handwritten counts, Washington implicated Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
    employees (and their associates) in conduct both brutal and bizarre, and his style of
    pleading did no favors to those tasked with deciphering, digesting, and responding to his
    claims. The District Court had determined that neither suit should survive the dismissal
    stage; and, conducting plenary review on appeal, we agreed in large part with its
    decisions. But nestled amongst the hundreds of allegations in each suit were a small
    number that were both well pleaded and not facially meritless. We therefore vacated the
    District Courts judgments, in part, and remanded for further proceedings on these
    claims, deferring to the District Courts broad case-management discretion regarding
    how best to manage those allegations that . . . appear[ed] in both cases. See
    Washington v. Grace, 445 F. Appx 611, 61617 & n.8 (3d Cir. 2011) (nonprecedential
    per curiam); Washington v. Grace, 455 F. Appx 166, 171 (3d Cir. 2011)
    (nonprecedential per curiam).
    3

    Consolidating the cases into a single matter (M.D. Pa. Civ. No. 4:08-cv-01283),
    the District Court asked Washington to file a revised amended complaint containing all
    of the issues set forth in the court of appeals opinion[s]. Order 1, ECF No. 69. The
    Court initially gave Washington fourteen days to accomplish this task; in response,
    Washington requested a 180-day extension. See Mot. for Time Enlargement 5, ECF
    No. 70. As the District Court would explain in its February 7, 2012 order denying further
    leave to amend:
    Washington estimates that it may take him as much as an additional 18
    months to [submit his final amended complaint]. Washington has also
    tendered to the Court what he describes as the first installment on this
    proposed amended complaint which may take a year and a half to
    completea 75 page tome which names more than 150 defendants, repeats
    dozens of dismissed claims, and contains in excess of 140 separately
    numbered paragraphs, many of which re-allege claims that have already
    been found wholly wanting. Given Washingtons assertion that this
    document represents only 25% of his entire proposed amended complaint,
    it is anticipated that when Washington completes this pleading, which he
    currently estimates may be sometime in the summer of 2013, the amended
    complaint will be 300 pages in length and will contain more than 560
    separately numbered paragraphs.
    Washington v. Grace, No. 4:08-CV-1283, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15173, at *5 (M.D. Pa.
    Feb. 7, 2012). Instead of allowing further amendment, the Court ordered service of
    Washingtons previous amended complaint, instructing the defendants to respond only
    to those averments that were previously specifically identified by the court of appeals as
    meriting a response. Id. at *6. The defendants filed their answer in November 2012.
    Forward momentum, however, was to be short lived, for although the District
    Court granted the defendants request to depose Washington via videoconference,
    4

    Washington did not entirely comply with this obligation. He was physically present for
    the 2013 videoconference, but refused to answer any questions until counsel for the
    defendants had read a declaration provided by Washington that pertain[ed] to [his]
    situation. 1st Dep. Tr. 7:34, ECF No. 118. Washington did not become any more
    compliant, and the deposition was ended. As a result, the defendants moved for sanctions
    pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, arguing that dismissal of the action would be an
    appropriate sanction to impose in light of Washingtons conduct; in the alternative, the
    defendants requested an order compelling Washingtons cooperation going forward.
    The District Court granted the defendants motion to compel, directing
    Washington to submit to a deposition within 30 days, while warning him that a failure
    to comply with this order may result in sanctions, including this dismissal of this
    lawsuit. Order 4, ECF No. 120. The second deposition met much the same fate as the
    first. Washington appeared, but was unresponsive; every question was answered with a
    non sequitur about his life being in imminent danger. See, e.g., 2d Dep. Tr. 11:1621,
    ECF No. 134 (Q: Do you have any children, Mr. Washington? A: My life is in danger at
    this prison. Sir, Im being abused. . . . Im being denied medical treatment. I can barely
    talk.). The defendants renewed their request for sanctions.
    In a thorough Report and Recommendation, the Magistrate Judge recounted the
    history of the case, andweighing the six factors of Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty

    Co., 747 F.2d 863 (3d Cir. 1984) 1concluded that the extreme sanction of dismissal with
    prejudice was warranted. See Washington v. Grace, No. 4:08-CV-1283, 2013 U.S. Dist.
    LEXIS 62390, at *2836 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 9, 2013). The District Judge fully agree[d]
    with the Magistrate Judges analysis, emphasizing Washingtons history of dilatory
    conduct, the hurdles impeding an orderly defense, and the inadequacy of lesser sanctions.
    See Washington v. Grace, No. 4:08-CV-1283, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61862, at *1517
    (M.D. Pa. May 1, 2013). The District Court therefore overruled Washingtons objections
    and dismissed this complaint with prejudice. This appeal followed.
    We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1291. It is well-settled that a court
    has discretion to issue sanctions for failure to comply with discovery orders. Ali v.
    Sims, 788 F.2d 954, 957 (3d Cir. 1986); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2)(A)(v). Because
    [d]ismissal must be a sanction of last, not first, resort, Poulis, 747 F.2d at 869, we will
    be guided by the manner in which the court balanced the Poulis factors and whether the
    record supports its findings, Sims, 788 F.2d at 957. No single Poulis factor is
    dispositive, and not all need to be satisfied in order to appropriately dismiss a complaint
    under the test. Briscoe v. Klaus, 538 F.3d 252, 263 (3d Cir. 2008) (citations omitted).
    Having reviewed the record, we are in full accord with the District Courts Poulis

    Those factors are: (1) the extent of the partys personal responsibility; (2) the prejudice
    to the adversary caused by the failure to meet scheduling orders and respond to
    discovery; (3) a history of dilatoriness; (4) whether the conduct of the party or the
    attorney was willful or in bad faith; (5) the effectiveness of sanctions other than
    dismissal, which entails an analysis of alternative sanctions; and (6) the meritoriousness
    of the claim or defense. Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868.
    6

    analysis. We recounted this cases procedural history above to make abundantly clear
    that both this Court and the District Court have afforded Washington numerous courtesies
    of both the interpretive and procedural sort, despite the frequently abusive and peculiar
    nature of his filings and his tendency to confuse the trivial with the treacherous. See
    Washington, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61862, at *16 (We and the Court of Appeals have
    given the Plaintiff every possible opportunity to litigate his potential claims, and he has
    frustrated or blocked every method we have employed.); see also Washington, 445 F.
    Appx at 614 n.4 (declining to invoke Poulis in the first instance during Washingtons
    previous appeal). As Washington admits, he struggles with mental-health issues, which
    could be a partial cause of his dilatoriness and might, in some circumstances, be
    misinterpreted as bad faith (we are not privy to details of his condition and do not know if
    his psychiatric ailment is exactly as he describes it).
    But the reality is that, five years on, this litigation is no closer to completion, even
    after Washingtons claims were winnowed down to a manageable number by our prior
    decisions. Instead of moving forward on those claims, Washington has obstructed,
    delayed, andperhaps most egregiouslyfailed to even minimally comply with
    discovery, effectively sabotaging two scheduled, court-ordered depositions. Rather than
    attend to his obligations to keep the litigation moving forward, Washington submitted
    numerous supplemental motions and declarations that added to, rather than subtracted
    from, the volume of pending issues. See, e.g., Washington, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
    62390, at *3334 (For example, Washington now repeatedly insists that he is the subject
    7

    of forced male mammary lactation experiments by prison doctors at SCI Greene . . . .);
    Pl.s Decl. 5, ECF No. 129 (accusing a Dr. Park of discontinuing Washingtons
    enhancement snack bag). Good or bad faith aside, District [C]ourt judges, confronted
    with litigants who flagrantly violate or ignore court orders, often have no appropriate or
    efficacious recourse other than dismissal of the complaint with prejudice. Mindek v.
    Rigatti, 964 F.2d 1369, 1373 (3d Cir. 1992). The present case exemplifies the very kind
    of situation that warrants dismissal. Id. Thus, under our deferential review, see Ware
    v. Rodale Press, Inc., 322 F.3d 218, 222 (3d Cir. 2003), we conclude that the District
    Courts Poulis analysis, and its decision to impose the extreme sanction of dismissal,
    represented a proper exercise of its discretion.
    Despite appealing the District Courts judgment, Washington has not meaningfully
    explained his conduct, nor has he even argued that the District Court acted in
    contravention of its broad discretion. We conclude, therefore, that this appeal lack[s] an
    arguable factual or legal basis, and must be dismissed in its entirety as frivolous
    pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). Wilson v. Rackmill, 878 F.2d 772, 774 (3d Cir.
    1989).

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