Peter Ingris v. , 598 F. App'x 838 ( 2015 )


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  • BLD-129                                                          NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    ____________
    No. 15-1310
    ____________
    IN RE: PETER INGRIS,
    Petitioner
    __________________________________
    On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from
    the United States District Court
    for the District of New Jersey
    (Related to D. N.J. No. 2-14-cv-02404)
    __________________________________
    Submitted Pursuant to Fed. R. App. Pro. 21
    March 5, 2015
    Before: AMBRO, JORDAN and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges
    (Filed: March 9, 2015)
    ____________
    OPINION*
    ____________
    PER CURIAM
    Peter Ingris has filed a petition for writ of mandamus. For the reasons that
    follow, we will deny the petition.
    Ingris is a litigant in a number of cases in the United States District Court for the
    District of New Jersey. In this petition, he seeks a writ of mandamus disqualifying Leda
    *
    This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
    constitute binding precedent.
    Dunn Wettre and Keith J. Miller from further representation of defendant Česká Televize
    in his civil action, Ingris v. Drexler, et al., D.N.J. Civ. No. 14-cv-02404, now pending
    before the Honorable Ester Salas. He seeks to compel these individuals from “further
    collusion” with Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer. Petition at 1-2. Ingris
    specifically challenges Judge Salas’s order of December 17, 2014 approving and
    adopting the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation dismissing Česká Televize
    from the action, see Ingris v. Drexler, 
    2014 WL 7271905
    (D.N.J. Dec. 17, 2014), and he
    also seeks a transfer of this case to Trenton due to an alleged ongoing conspiracy against
    him in Newark. Ingris further seeks a writ of mandamus compelling Judge Salas to
    protect his right of access to the courts which allegedly has been impeded by Magistrate
    Judge Hammer, to ensure that he receives timely notice of the activity in his case, to
    provide him with fair and unbiased court proceedings “free of intentional manipulations
    with [his] confidential information,” and to provide him the opportunity to argue orally
    all dispositive matters in his case. Petition at 3, 12.
    We recently denied a similar although not identical petition, and to the extent that
    this petition repeats some of the same allegations against Judge Salas, and concerning
    Ingris’s right of access to the federal court in Newark, the petition is denied for the
    reasons previously stated. See In re Ingris, --- F. App’x ---, 
    2015 WL 794948
    (3d Cir.
    2015).
    We will deny this petition for writ of mandamus. Our jurisdiction derives from 28
    U.S.C. § 1651, which grants us the power to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in
    aid of (our) . . . jurisdiction and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” A writ of
    2
    mandamus is an extreme remedy that is invoked only in extraordinary situations. See
    Kerr v. United States Dist. Court, 
    426 U.S. 394
    , 402 (1976). We will grant a writ of
    mandamus only where three conditions are met: (1) there is no other adequate means to
    obtain the relief sought; (2) the right to issuance of the writ is clear and indisputable; and
    (3) we, in the exercise of our discretion, are satisfied that the issuance of the writ is
    appropriate under the circumstances. In re Pressman-Gutman Co., Inc., 
    459 F.3d 383
    ,
    399 (3d Cir. 2006).
    The District Court docket reflects that Magistrate Judge Hammer issued a Report
    and Recommendation regarding Česká Televize’s motion to dismiss the complaint for
    insufficient service of process and lack of personal jurisdiction.1 On December 17, 2014,
    Judge Salas issued an Opinion and Order adopting Judge Hammer’s Report and
    Recommendation and dismissing the lawsuit as to Česká Televize with prejudice based
    on a lack of personal jurisdiction. Ingris has since moved for reconsideration of the
    District Court’s order dismissing Česká Televize, and moved to transfer the action to the
    Trenton Vicinage and to disqualify Česká Televize’s counsel, see Docket Entry Nos. 118
    and 119. These motions remain pending before the District Court.
    Mandamus will not lie where there are other adequate means to obtain the relief
    sought, as there are here. See In re Pressman-Gutman Co., 
    Inc., 459 F.3d at 399
    . To the
    extent that Ingrid seeks to appeal the District Court’s December 17, 2014 order
    1
    Ingris’s claims against Česká Televize apparently are based on a documentary about his
    ex-wife and former ballroom dancing partner, Tatiana Drexler, which was broadcast in
    the Czech Republic. Ingris claimed that the broadcast defamed him, among other claims.
    The amended complaint also asserted a Nazi-inspired conspiracy against Ingris by his ex-
    wife and her current husband and certain Eastern European publishers.
    3
    dismissing some but not all of the parties, he may not do so via a mandamus petition. A
    mandamus petition is not a substitute for an appeal, see In re Baldwin, 
    700 F.3d 122
    , 127
    (3d Cir. 2012); In re Kensington Int’l Ltd., 
    353 F.3d 211
    , 219 (3d Cir. 2003), and may not
    be used to circumvent the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). An
    order is not appealable when it does not dismiss all claims as to all parties and is not
    certified by the District Court under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). See Andrews
    v. United States, 
    373 U.S. 334
    , 340 (1963). Rule 54(b) provides that “when multiple
    parties are involved, the court may direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more, but
    fewer than all, claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just
    reason for delay.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 54(b). Ingris’s assertions against The Historical
    Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Donald A. Robinson
    are vague and insubstantial and also do not warrant mandamus relief.
    For the foregoing reasons, we will deny the petition for writ of mandamus.
    4