Guider v. Department of Corrections
Guider v. Department of Corrections
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Keynen Guider appeals from the order of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania denying him leave to amend his complaint after his initial complaint was dismissed. For the reasons that follow, we will summarily affirm the District Court’s judgment.
Guider filed his civil rights complaint in January 2007 while an inmate of the Que-hanna Boot Camp (“Quehanna”) operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (“DOC”). He alleged that he slipped and fell on a slippery floor while working in the facility’s kitchen, causing a back injury. He sought $200,000.00 for
Guider did not appeal. Instead, more than one year later, in November 2008, he filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint to add additional defendants. On December 4, 2008, the District Court denied Guider’s motion for leave to amend, noting that the complaint had been dismissed on August 21, 2007. Guider appeals. He has filed a motion for appointment of counsel and has filed written argument in support of his appeal.
We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. At the outset, we note that Guider’s November 2008 motion for leave to amend under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) and 15(c), filed long after entry of final judgment in his case, would more appropriately be characterized as a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) for relief from judgment. See Ahmed v. Dragovich, 297 F.3d 201, 208 (3d Cir. 2002) (citing 6 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur A. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 1489 (a Rule 15 amendment cannot be allowed after entry of final judgment until the judgment is set aside or vacated under Rule 59 or 60)). It is evident from the record that Guider’s motion for leave to amend was filed too late to be considered under Rule 59 (see Rule 59(e), filing within ten days after entry of judgment) or Rule 60(b)(1), (2), or (3) (see Rule 60(c), filing no later than one year after entry of judgment). It is also evident that neither Rule 60(b)(4) (for a void judgment) nor Rule 60(b)(5) (judgment that is satisfied, released, or discharged, or based on a vacated or reversed judgment, or inequity in the prospective application of the judgment) apply here, Guider does not make any arguments to suggest otherwise. As for Rule 60(b)(6) (any other reason justifying relief), we conclude that Guider’s motion to amend does not warrant reopening under this rule.
The motion to amend sought to add defendants George Patrick, D. Amos, and E. Gaines. Guider asserted that he was unaware of the proposed defendants’ legal responsibilities connected with their DOC/Quehanna employment until after he completed the ninety-day program at Que-hanna, and that he was hindered by the
Because this appeal presents no “substantial question,” we will summarily affirm the District Court’s decision. See Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6. Guider’s motion for appointment of counsel is denied.
. Defendants Patrick and Gaines were named in the original complaint; defendants Patrick and Amos were identified in the prior motion to amend.
. Rule 15(b) permits post-judgment amendment of a complaint in limited circumstances not present here, and Guider does not argue that Rule 15(b) applies.
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