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467 F.2d 949

Docket No. 71-1980.

Esser v. Weller

Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Submitted Sept. 29, 1972.

Decided Oct. 6, 1972.

Third Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1972-10-06

Cited by 29 later decisions — most recently September 1988 · most notably Curtis v. Everette (1973), Polite v. Diehl (1974)

7 federal appellate · 3 district ·

2 counsel of record

Relies on Kauffman v. Moss · Negrich v. Hohn · Gaito v. Ellenbogen

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1972-10-06

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1Robert Harry Esser, pro se.

¶2Curtis M. Pontz, Deputy Atty. Gen., Department of Justice, Harrisburg, Pa., for appellee.

¶3Before STALEY, VAN DUSEN and MAX ROSENN, Circuit Judges.

¶4OPINION OF THE COURT

¶5PER CURIAM:

¶6Plaintiff, an inmate at the Hunting-don Correctional Institution, has appealed from an order of the district court dismissing his civil rights action against Walter Weller, a guard, as frivolous and without merit.

¶7The complaint broadly charges, inter alia, that Weller harassed the plaintiff by threatening him; that he caused mental distress by assigning the plaintiff to a cell below the cell of a boister*950ous prisoner; and that Weller took away plaintiff’s notes of testimony.

¶8This court has stressed that complaints in civil rights cases must “contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim . . . and the relief . . .” sought. F.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) and (3); Gaito v. Ellenbogen, 425 F.2d 845 (3d Cir. 1970).

¶9The broad and conclusory statements made in plaintiff’s complaint are not supported by specific factual allegations.1 Therefore, the complaint fails to meet the test set forth in Ne-grich v. Hohn, 379 F.2d 213 (3d Cir. 1967), that a complaint must specifically state facts in support of its conclusions in order to avoid a motion to dismiss. See Kauffman v. Moss, 420 F.2d 1270 (3d Cir. 1970).

¶10The order of the district court will be affirmed.

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