Filed: Aug. 24, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 18-1490 _ CAROLYN J. FLORIMONTE, Appellant v. BOROUGH OF DALTON, also known as Borough Council _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 3-17-cv-01063) District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) August 23, 2018 Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: August 24, 2018) _ OPIN
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 18-1490 _ CAROLYN J. FLORIMONTE, Appellant v. BOROUGH OF DALTON, also known as Borough Council _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 3-17-cv-01063) District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) August 23, 2018 Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: August 24, 2018) _ OPINI..
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 18-1490
___________
CAROLYN J. FLORIMONTE,
Appellant
v.
BOROUGH OF DALTON,
also known as Borough Council
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil Action No. 3-17-cv-01063)
District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
August 23, 2018
Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: August 24, 2018)
___________
OPINION *
___________
PER CURIAM
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
Carolyn Florimonte appeals the District Court’s order dismissing her complaint.
For the reasons below, we will affirm the District Court’s order.
The procedural history of this case and the details of Florimonte’s claims are well
known to the parties, are set forth in the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation,
and need not be discussed at length. Briefly, Florimonte filed a lawsuit in state court
complaining of drainage pipes that Appellee Borough of Dalton allegedly installed on her
property before she purchased it and which discharged water that damaged her property.
She obtained equitable relief (the filling and capping of the pipes), but waived her right to
damages. 1 She filed eight more actions in the state court which were dismissed because
she was suing over the same set of facts. In 2014, Florimonte filed a complaint in the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The District Court
dismissed her claims as barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Florimonte appealed, and
we affirmed the District Court’s decision. See Florimonte v. Borough of Dalton, 603 F.
App’x 67 (3d Cir. May 20, 2015) (per curiam).
In June 2017, Florimonte filed another complaint in the District Court. Seeking to
undermine the res judicata ruling, she alleged that the Borough prevailed in all the prior
cases due to fraud and requested that all the state and federal judgments against her be
vacated. She contended that the District Court had the power under Fed. R. Civ. P.
1
The Commonwealth Court determined that Florimonte “abandoned her claim for money
damages, specifically objected to the inclusion of damages, and stated she would only
continue with her equitable claim. Accordingly, Appellant has affirmatively waived her
right to recover money damages.” Florimonte v. Borough of Dalton, No 987 C.D. 2012,
2013 WL 3973727, at *11 (Pa. Commw. Ct. April 4, 2013) (citations omitted).
2
60(d)(1) and (3) to entertain the action. She listed over thirty documents which she
believed were “self-explanatory” and provided a “comprehensive history of the frauds.”
The Borough filed a motion to dismiss, and Florimonte filed an amended complaint. A
Magistrate Judge recommended that the motion to dismiss be granted for failure to state a
claim. The District Court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation
and dismissed the complaint. Florimonte filed a timely notice of appeal.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. In his Report and
Recommendation, the Magistrate Judge set forth the lengthy litigation history between
the parties and performed a thorough analysis of Florimonte’s arguments. We have little
to add to his analysis. We agree with the District Court that Florimonte has failed to state
claims for relief under Fed R. Civ. P. 60(d)(1) & (3) and, therefore, has not shown that
the District Court’s earlier res judicata ruling should be set aside.
Pursuant to Rule 60(d)(1), an independent action is available to relieve a party
from a judgment, but “only to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.” United States v.
Beggerly,
524 U.S. 38, 47 (1998). Under Rule 60(d)(3), a court may set aside a judgment
for fraud on the court. Fraud on the court must be intentional, directed at the court, and
committed by an officer of the court. In re Bressman,
874 F.3d 142, 150 (3d Cir. 2017).
A finding of fraud on the court requires “egregious conduct” and must be supported by
“clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence.”
Id. The fraud must deceive the court.
Id.
In her brief, Florimonte explains that the fraud she complains of is the Borough’s
alleged failure to admit that it installed the drainage pipes on her property. Br. at 10.
3
While she alleges that the Borough destroyed documents, her evidence in support is a
letter she wrote to her attorney alleging that an anonymous source told her that
unspecified documents were being shredded at the Borough’s office. Likewise, she
suggests that her own statements in her complaint provide proof of fabrication of
evidence. Br. at 19. Moreover, the documents she points to as evidence were available
to her at the time she filed her first federal complaint. Thus, she could have brought this
alleged fraud to the District Court’s attention during the proceedings addressing her first
federal complaint.
Florimonte has failed to set forth facts suggesting a grave miscarriage of justice.
Nor has she alleged egregious conduct or intentional fraud that deceived the District
Court. As noted by the Magistrate Judge in his Report and Recommendation, “[a]ll of
the conduct alleged occurred prior to the initiation of that federal civil action, none of it
was directed at this Court, and none of it can be said to have deceived this Court.”
Report and Recommendation at 17. Florimonte has not shown that the District Court
erred in refusing to set aside its prior judgment. 2
2
In her brief, Florimonte repeatedly criticizes the Magistrate Judge for mentioning that
her witness, Robert Fisher, testified at the state court trial. She emphasizes that Fisher
died in 2010 and state court trial was in 2011. However, Florimonte herself asserted in
her amended complaint that “[o]n April 3, 2009, Fisher would testify that defendant
secretly installed the pipes . . . and that the owners were angry with the Borough.” Am
Compl. at 8. While Fisher may have died before the state court trial, he was available
and provided testimony for Florimonte at a hearing for a preliminary injunction. This
very minor issue does not undermine the Magistrate Judge’s thorough analysis of
Florimonte’s arguments.
4
For the above reasons, we will affirm the District Court’s judgment. 3
Florimonte’s motion to strike Appellee’s brief is denied.
3
In Florimonte’s prior appeal, we declined the Borough’s request that she be restricted
from filing additional appeals. We noted that:
Although Florimonte has filed several actions in state court on this matter,
this is her first in federal court, and thus an injunction on her access to this
Court seems premature. If Florimonte files additional duplicative or
frivolous actions on this matter in the future, then we will reconsider
whether to restrict her access to this Court or to impose other appropriate
sanctions, including monetary penalties.
Florimonte, 603 F. App’x at 68. We strongly warn Florimonte that continued duplicative
or vexatious litigation will lead to monetary sanctions and filing restrictions.
5