Patricia Smith v. Andrea Clark

Opinions of the United
2009 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
2-11-2009
Patricia Smith v. Andrea Clark
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 08-3238
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 08-3238
___________
PATRICIA SMITH, E/O Willie F. Smith; PATRICIA SMITH;
MARY SCOTT; CHRISTINE SMITH,
Appellants
v.
THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL;
JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE; VINCENT ARMENTI, M.D.;
ANDREA CLARK, R.N.; BECKIE MICHAEL, D.O.;
BRENDA HOFFMAN, MD., Intermediate Dialysis Unit; MARCY B. TANKER;
ATTORNEY ROBERT A. JUBELIRER; ATTORNEY VAL PLEET WILSON;
ATTORNEY FREDRIC L. GOLDFEIN,
(Pursuant to F.R.A.P. 12(a))
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. No. 08-cv-02478)
District Judge: Honorable Norma L. Shapiro
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
February 10, 2009
Before: FISHER, JORDAN and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: February 11, 2009)
___________
OPINION
___________
PER CURIAM
Mary Scott, Christine Smith, and Patricia Smith (together, the “Smiths”) appeal
from the District Court’s order dismissing their complaint for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. For the following reasons, we will affirm.
This matter arises from a medical malpractice action currently pending in the
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. In February 2005, the Smiths initiated that
action against Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Medical College, and
several medical professionals in connection with the death of their father, Willie F. Smith.
(Jan. Term, 2005, No. 4090.) The Smiths and their attorney, Val Pleet Wilson,
subsequently agreed to resolve the dispute by participating in a binding arbitration.
Following the arbitration on April 12, 2007, the parties settled the case for $105,000.00.
It appears, however, that the Smiths then refused to execute a release to finalize
the settlement. The Smiths claimed that Attorney Wilson had failed to adequately
represent their interests at the arbitration, and that, after the arbitration, they had learned
that the doctor who performed their father’s surgery was not board-certified as a surgeon.
Despite the Smiths’ complaints, the Court of Common Pleas enforced the agreement and
instructed the Smiths to comply with its terms.
Apparently dissatisfied with the state court’s ruling, the Smiths then filed the
present pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. The complaint named as defendants the same parties from the state court
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action as well as the attorneys who had participated in the arbitration. In the complaint,
the Smiths again alleged that the doctor who performed their father’s surgery was not
board-certified as a surgeon. The Smiths further alleged that one of the medical experts
at the arbitration lacked sufficient credentials, and that their father’s hospital discharge
papers had been forged. Lastly, the Smiths claimed that Attorney Wilson, by agreeing to
the settlement, had conspired with the defense to cover up the defendants’ malpractice.
All defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. See F ED. R. C IV. P. 12(b)(1). Following a hearing on June 23, 2008, the
District Court determined that the Smiths’ complaint was an improper attempt to appeal
from the state court’s decision to enforce the settlement agreement, and held that it lacked
jurisdiction to review that decision under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The District
Court further held that the complaint did not allege any basis for federal question or
diversity jurisdiction. Therefore, by order entered July 7, 2008, the District Court granted
the defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. This appeal
followed.1
Upon review, we believe that the District Court correctly concluded that it lacked
jurisdiction over the Smiths’ complaint. First, insofar as the Smiths’ complaint sought
1
We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and our
review of the District Court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is plenary.
Gary v. Braddock Cemetery, 517 F.3d 195, 200 n. 4 (3d Cir. 2008); Ballentine v. United
States, 486 F.3d 806, 808 (3d Cir. 2007).
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review of the state court’s ruling on the settlement agreement, the District Court properly
held that it falls squarely within the class of actions prohibited by the Rooker-Feldman
doctrine. See Desi’s Pizza, Inc. v. City of Wilkes Barre, 321 F.3d 411, 419 (3d Cir. 2003)
(explaining that, pursuant to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, district courts lack jurisdiction
to adjudicate actions in which the relief requested requires the court to determine that the
state court’s decision was wrong). Furthermore, the District Court could not entertain
federal question jurisdiction over the complaint because it did not allege any violations of
a federal statute or the Constitution.2 See 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Finally, as the District Court
noted, jurisdiction could not be based on diversity of citizenship between the parties
because the parties in this action are all citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Therefore, the District Court correctly concluded that it lacked
subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint.
2
In their Notice of Appeal and their brief, the Smiths make several allegations
about minority discrimination in the state’s legal system. We need not address these
allegations, however, because they were not raised before the District Court. See Brenner
v. Local 514, United Bhd. of Carpenters and Joiners of Am., 927 F.2d 1283, 1298 (3d
Cir. 1991).
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We have reviewed the Smiths’ remaining arguments, and have concluded that they
are without merit.3 Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, we will affirm the
judgment of the District Court.
3
The Smiths’ “Motion to Admit Genuineness of Facts,” in which they ask the
defendants to admit or deny the truth of 13 statements, is denied. The Federal Rules of
Appellate Procedure do not provide for requests for admissions in matters on appeal to
this Court; a court of appeals reviews a district court’s judgment based on the record
before the district court.
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