In Re: Bronson , 179 F. App'x 139 ( 2006 )


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  •                                                                                                                            Opinions of the United
    2006 Decisions                                                                                                             States Court of Appeals
    for the Third Circuit
    5-8-2006
    In Re: Bronson
    Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
    Docket No. 06-1964
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    Recommended Citation
    "In Re: Bronson " (2006). 2006 Decisions. Paper 1143.
    http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/thirdcircuit_2006/1143
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    HPS-60 (April 2006)                                     NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    NO. 06-1964
    ________________
    IN RE: PURCELL BRONSON,
    Petitioner
    _____________________________
    On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the
    United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
    (Related to Civ. No. 05-cv-00514)
    ___________________________________
    Submitted Under Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P.
    April 21, 2006
    Before: SCIRICA, Chief Judge, WEIS and GARTH, Circuit Judges
    Filed: May 8, 2006
    _______________________
    OPINION
    ______________________
    PER CURIAM.
    Pro se petitioner Purcell Bronson seeks a writ of mandamus to compel the
    United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to reach an
    immediate decision on the motions to dismiss his complaint filed by defendants in August
    2005.
    Bronson filed a civil rights complaint against three medical professionals at
    1
    the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill (“medical defendants”) on March 14,
    2005. He then filed an amended complaint alleging claims against three additional
    defendants employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (“corrections
    defendants”) on May 2, 2005. On August 3, 2005, the medical defendants filed a motion
    to dismiss the amended complaint. The corrections defendants followed suit on August
    16, 2005. Bronson did not file an opposition to either of these motions until November 4,
    2005. Bronson then filed a declaration and supplemental arguments in support of his
    opposition brief on December 2, 2005. Thus, contrary to allegations made by Bronson in
    his petition for a writ of mandamus, the motions to dismiss have been ripe for
    adjudication since December, not August, 2005.
    The remedy of mandamus is reserved for the most extraordinary of
    circumstances. DeMasi v. Weiss, 
    669 F.2d 114
    , 117 (3d Cir. 1982). In order to ensure
    that mandamus is sparingly granted, a petitioner seeking a writ of mandamus must
    demonstrate that no other adequate means are available to obtain the desired relief and
    that the right to issuance of the writ is “clear and indisputable.” Allied Chem. Corp. v.
    Daifon, Inc., 
    449 U.S. 33
    , 35 (1980) (quoting Bankers Life & Cas. Co. v. Holland, 
    346 U.S. 379
    , 384 (1953) (quoting United States v. Duell, 
    172 U.S. 576
    , 582 (1899))). Here,
    petitioner seeks an order directing the District Court to rule immediately on defendants’
    motions to dismiss. Petitioner has not demonstrated that his right to such a ruling is
    “clear and indisputable.”
    As we have previously held, the management of its docket is committed to
    2
    the sound discretion of the district court. In re Fine Paper Antitrust Litig., 
    685 F.2d 810
    ,
    817 (3d Cir. 1982). When a matter is discretionary, it cannot typically be said that a
    litigant’s right is “clear and indisputable.” Allied Chem. 
    Corp., 449 U.S. at 35-36
    .
    Nonetheless, we have held that a writ of mandamus may be warranted where undue delay
    is tantamount to a failure to exercise jurisdiction. Madden v. Myers, 
    102 F.3d 74
    , 79 (3d
    Cir. 1996).
    Petitioner has not demonstrated undue delay in this case. While defendants’
    motions to dismiss have been pending since December, the District Court has acted
    expeditiously on the various motions filed by Petitioner, has set a schedule for discovery
    and for the filing of dispositive motions, and has responded in a timely manner to
    frequent inquiries from Petitioner regarding the status of the case. We trust that the
    District Court will continue to respond to the parties’ filings in an expeditious manner.
    The petition for a writ of mandamus is therefore denied.