Opinion
4:16cv192-WS/CAS
01-22-2018
ORLANDO PEREZ-MARTINEZ, Plaintiff, v. R. RALPH, Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING, IN PART, THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Before the court is the magistrate judge's report and recommendation (doc. 38) docketed January 5, 2018. The magistrate judge recommends that Defendant Ralph's unopposed motion (doc. 31) for partial summary judgment be granted. Plaintiff Perez-Martinez has filed objections (doc. 40) to the magistrate judge's recommendation.
In his motion for partial summary judgment, Defendant argued that he was entitled to summary judgment as to (1) Plaintiff's request for money damages against Ralph in his official capacity as a Florida Department of Corrections employee; and (2) Plaintiff's request for compensatory and punitive damages. The magistrate judge recommended that Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment be granted and, in addition, recommended that final judgment be entered in Defendant's favor.
Having considered the record, the court finds that Defendant is entitled to partial summary judgment as requested. The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution bars any action for money damages against a state employee in his official capacity; and 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e) bars prisoner suits for compensatory and punitive damages where, as here, the record establishes that the prisoner did not suffer a more-than-de-minimis physical injury. In his objections to the report and recommendation, Plaintiff provides no convincing argument as to why Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment should be denied.
To the extent the magistrate judge, sua sponte, went beyond the contours of Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment, the court cannot adopt the report and recommendation and must return the case to the magistrate judge for further consideration as to the merits of Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment excessive force claim. Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1. The magistrate judge's report and recommendation (doc. 38) is hereby ADOPTED to the extent the magistrate judge considered the specific arguments raised by Defendant in his motion for partial summary judgment.
2. Defendant's motion (doc. 31) for partial summary judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiff's request for money damages against Defendant in his official capacity is DISMISSED pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. Plaintiff's requests for compensatory and punitive damages are DISMISSED pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e).
3. The case shall be returned to the magistrate judge for further proceedings.
DONE AND ORDERED this 22nd day of January, 2018.
s/ William Stafford
WILLIAM STAFFORD
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE