Opinion
22-2729
05-24-2023
AARON J. BRESSI, Appellant v. JEFFERY BRENNEN; EDWARD PURCELL; CHRISTOPHER LAPOTSKIE; CHAD YODER; CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS; CHIEF WILLIAM CARPENTER; TERRY KECHEM, Coal Township Police Officer; and PATROLMAN ADAMS, Coal Township Police Officer
NOT PRECEDENTIAL
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) May 23, 2023.
On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (M.D. Pa. Civ. No. 4:17-cv-01742), District Judge: Honorable Matthew W. Brann.
Before: JORDAN, CHUNG, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges
OPINION [*]
PER CURIAM
Proceeding pro se, Aaron Bressi filed a federal civil rights action against several law enforcement officers. He raised claims of unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution. Concluding that Bressi's claims were time- or Heek-barred, the District Court granted the defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion and dismissed the action with prejudice. We affirmed, but modified the District Court's order to reflect that dismissal of the Heck-barred claims was without prejudice. See Bressi v. Brennen, 823 Fed.Appx. 116, 120 (3d Cir. 2020) (per curiam). Bressi then filed motions in the District Court asking to "refile" his case. After the District Court denied the latest of the motions, Bressi filed this appeal.
Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994).
We have appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
Bressi's attempt to "refile" his civil rights action lacked any legitimate basis for such relief. Thus, insofar as his latest motion could be construed as seeking vacatur under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the motion. To the extent Bressi mistook our modification of the District Court's earlier order of dismissal as authorization to "refile," we remind Bressi that his wrongful-conviction and malicious-prosecution claims do not accrue unless and until the subject criminal case terminates in his favor. See Coello v. DiLeo, 43 F.4th 346, 354 (3d Cir. 2022).
For those reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court. Bressi's motion seeking a court-ordered mental health evaluation is denied.
[*] This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent.