Abdul Ideen v. Agent Straub

CLD-209 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 09-4385
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ABDUL IDEEN,
Appellant
v.
AGENT STRAUB; AGENT CRAMER; JEFFREY BEARD, Secretary;
PAUL SHEAL, Superintendent; LT. RODNEY PAINTER; LISA HOLLIBAUGH;
PAUL K. SMEAL; RANDALL E. BRITTON;
CYNTHIA L. KECHISEN, School Principal
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civ. No. 3:09-cv-00502)
District Judge: Honorable Edwin M. Kosik
____________________________________
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
May 27, 2010
Before: BARRY, FISHER AND GREENAWAY, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: June 28, 2010)
_________
OPINION
_________
PER CURIAM

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We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and may1
affirm the District Court’s decision on any basis supported by the record. See Tourscher
v. McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir. 1999).
2
Abdul Ideen, a Pennsylvania state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals the District
Court’s sua sponte order dismissing his second amended complaint. Because the appeal
does not present a substantial question, we will summarily affirm.
I.
In March 2009, Ideen filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens v. Six
Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). He
subsequently amended his complaint twice. His second amended complaint named as
defendants two federal agents, the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections (“DOC”), the superintendents of the State Correctional Institution at
Houtzdale (“SCI-Houtzdale”) and SCI-Smithfield, and two other prison officials from
SCI-Smithfield. Ideen appeared to raise claims of retaliation, racial profiling, and
interference with his free exercise of religion.
The District Court referred the case to a Magistrate Judge, who recommended that
the court dismiss Ideen’s claims. On October 19, 2009, the District Court entered a sua
sponte order adopting the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation and dismissing Ideen’s
second amended complaint. Ideen now seeks review of the District Court’s order.1

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II.
We first examine the claims against the two federal agents, the superintendent of
SCI-Smithfield, and the other two prison officials from that institution. The District
Court dismissed these claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) for failure to state a claim.
We exercise plenary review over this aspect of the District Court’s judgment. See Allah
v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000).
To avoid dismissal, a complaint’s “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a
right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,
555 (2007). The allegations “must not be ‘so undeveloped that [the complaint] does not
provide a defendant the type of notice of claim which is contemplated by [Fed. R. Civ. P.
8].’” Umland v. Planco Fin. Servs., Inc., 542 F.3d 59, 64 (3d Cir. 2008) (quoting Phillips
v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir. 2008)). In this case, portions of
Ideen’s second amended complaint, like his two earlier complaints, are difficult to
comprehend and border on being unintelligible. Even where his allegations are somewhat
clearer, he failed to sufficiently develop a factual basis for his claims, despite having had
three opportunities to do so. Accordingly, Ideen has not shown that the District Court
erred in dismissing the claims against the federal agents, the superintendent of SCI-
Smithfield, and the other two prison officials from SCI-Smithfield for failure to state a
claim.

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We now turn to Ideen’s claims against the DOC Secretary and the superintendent
of SCI-Houtzdale. The District Court dismissed these claims without prejudice,
concluding that they were more appropriately brought in the Western District of
Pennsylvania because they arose while Ideen was incarcerated in that district. Although
the court appeared to base its decision on 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), that provision affords a
district court discretion to transfer a claim to another district, not dismiss the claim. See
28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). This oversight, however, did not prevent Ideen from refiling his
claims in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Moreover, he does not appear to
challenge this aspect of the District Court’s judgment in this appeal, nor do these claims
seem sufficiently clear or factually developed to state a claim. As such, we need not
disturb the District Court’s dismissal of these claims.
Because this appeal does not present a substantial question, we will summarily
affirm the District Court’s order dismissing Ideen’s second amended complaint. See 3d
Cir. LAR 27.4; 3d Cir. I.O.P. 10.6. Ideen’s “Motion to Vacate Void Judgment 60(b)” is
denied.

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