Anthony J. Brodzki v. Tribune Company

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ALD-166 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 12-1409
___________
ANTHONY J. BRODZKI,
Appellant
v.
TRIBUNE COMPANY
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Delaware
(D.C. Civil No. 1-11-cv-00918)
District Judge: Honorable Sue L. Robinson
____________________________________
Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)
or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
April 26, 2012
Before: SLOVITER, FISHER and WEIS, Circuit
(Opinion filed: May 8, 2012)
Judges
_________
OPINION
_________
PER CURIAM.
Anthony Brodzki, proceeding pro se, appeals from the District Court’s order
dismissing his complaint as frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and denying his
motion for reconsideration. For the reasons that follow, we will dismiss Brodzki’s appeal
pursuant to § 1915(e)(2), as well.

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In October 2011, Brodzki filed a diversity action in the District Court against the
Tribune Company, a Delaware corporation, alleging the torts of defamation and slander,
and seeking $50 million in damages and an injunction prohibiting “WGN from all
privacy violations mind and body.” In the complaint, Brodzki claimed that he was at
home in Texas watching a Chicago Cubs baseball game on WGN when the Cubs’ general
manager and the WGN host accused Brodzki on air of being a pedophile and of having
publicly exposed himself.
Brodzki applied for, and was awarded, in forma pauperis status, after which the
District Court screened his complaint for legal sufficiency pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2). The District Court noted that Brodzki has a history of filing legally
frivolous lawsuits, which has resulted in his being banned from filing civil suits in the
Northern District of Illinois without prior court authorization and in the imposition of
sanctions in at least one case in the Northern District of Texas. The District Court
reasoned that the instant complaint -- one of at least seven similar complaints he has filed
in the District of Delaware since 2010 -- did not adequately state a cause of action and
that his allegations were “fantastical, delusional, irrational, and frivolous.” D. Ct. Doc.
No. 5, 4. Accordingly, the District Court dismissed the complaint under § 1915(e)(2).
Brodzki filed an objection, which the District Court construed as a motion for
reconsideration and then denied. Brodzki timely filed a notice of appeal.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and exercise plenary review
over the District Court’s dismissal of the complaint under § 1915. See Allah v.

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Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000). Because Brodzki was proceeding in forma
pauperis, the District Court was required to dismiss his complaint if it failed to state a
claim on which relief may be granted. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The legal standard for
dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2) is the same as that
for dismissing a complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). See Tourscher v.
McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir. 1999). To withstand scrutiny under
§ 1915(e)(2), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to
‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677
(2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). Threadbare
recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do
not suffice.” Id. at 678. Further, § 1915(e)(2) “accords judges . . . the unusual power to
pierce the veil of the complaint’s factual allegations and dismiss those claims whose
factual contentions are clearly baseless.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989).
“Examples . . . are claims describing fantastic or delusional scenarios . . . .” Id.
We agree with the District Court that Brodzki’s bare allegations, without more,
were insufficient to state a claim under
at 328.
Iqbal. Further, in light of the nature of Brodzki’s
factual allegations, we perceive no error in the District Court’s conclusion that granting
Brodzki leave to amend his complaint would have been futile.1
1 Before dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2), a
plaintiff must be afforded the opportunity to amend the complaint unless amendment
would be inequitable or futile. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103,
114 (3d Cir. 2002).
Accordingly, it was

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appropriate for the District Court to dismiss his complaint.
Nor was there any error in denying Brodzki’s “objections” inasmuch as the
objections amounted to a motion to reconsider. We review the denial of a motion to
reconsider for abuse of discretion. See Caver v. City of Trenton, 420 F.3d 243, 258 (3d
Cir. 2005). To prevail on a motion for reconsideration, a litigant must demonstrate:
“(1) an intervening change in the controlling law; (2) the availability of new evidence . .
.; or (3) the need to correct a clear error of law or fact or to prevent manifest injustice.”
Max’s Seafood Café ex rel. Lou-Ann, Inc. v. Quinteros
Because Brodzki is proceeding in forma pauperis on appeal, we must dismiss the
appeal if it is legally frivolous.
, 176 F.3d 669, 677 (3d Cir.
1999). Brodzki’s submission to the District Court did not satisfy any of these
requirements, and the District Court appropriately denied the motion.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). For the foregoing reasons,
we will dismiss the appeal.

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