Opinion
3:22-cv-05926-BHS
01-10-2023
TAM TRAN, Plaintiff, v. DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING, Defendant.
ORDER
BENJAMIN H. SETTLE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Magistrate Judge David W. Christel's Report and Recommendation (“R&R”), Dkt. 4, recommending that this Court deny pro se Plaintiff Tam Tran's Motion for Leave to proceed in forma pauperis, Dkt. 1, and dismiss this action without prejudice for failure to state a claim.
A district judge must determine de novo any part of a magistrate judge's proposed disposition to which a party has properly objected. The district judge may accept, reject, or modify the recommended disposition; receive further evidence; or return the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions. Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b)(3). A proper objection requires specific written objections to the findings and recommendations in the R&R. United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). Objections to an R&R are not a vehicle to relitigate the same arguments carefully considered and rejected by the magistrate judge. See, e.g., Fix v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co., CV 16-41-M-DLC-JCL, 2017 WL 2721168, at *1 (D. Mont. June 23, 2017) (collecting cases). Tran has not objected or otherwise responded.
Tran's proposed complaint, Dkt. 1-1, alleges that Defendant Washington State Department of Licensing violated his constitutional rights in 2015 when they suspended his license and required him to place an ignition interlock device in his vehicle. Judge Christel determined that Tran's complaint is fatally flawed because the Department of Licensing is not a viable defendant for Tran's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim, as it is not a “person.” Tran has not identified any person who personally participated in any constitutional depravation, and his claims are facially time-barred. See Dkt. 4. The R&R also concludes that Tran cannot amend his complaint to state a plausible claim.
The R&R is ADOPTED, Tran's application to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED, and this matter is DISMISSED without prejudice.
The Clerk shall enter a JUDGMENT and close the case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.