Opinion
No. 07 Civ. 3018 (RJS) (THK).
March 16, 2010
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
On February 28, 2007, Plaintiff Larry Williams, who is incarcerated and proceeding pro se, initiated this suit by delivering a complaint to prison officials for them to file on his behalf. The complaint was received by the court's Pro Se Office on March 9, 2007 and docketed on April 14, 2007. (Doc. No. 1.) The case was originally assigned to the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas, District Judge, and reassigned to the docket of the undersigned on September 4, 2007. (Doc. No. 3.)
The only Defendants named in the complaint were "John Does 1-11, sued in their individual capacities," whom Plaintiff described as United States Marshals. Accordingly, on October 30, 2007, the Court ordered the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York ("the USAO") to identify the officers described in the complaint. After an extended investigation period, four Marshals were eventually identified by name: Luis Figueroa, Donny LaRosa, Thomas Ventiere, and A.J. Krause. Plaintiff then filed an amended complaint on January 2, 2009 — more than twenty-two months after the original complaint was filed — adding the named defendants, in their individual and official capacities, and other parties. (Doc. No. 19.) The Court ordered Plaintiff to serve the amended complaint by April 1, 2009
(Doc. No. 20), which was later extended until May 15, 2009 at Plaintiff's request (Doc. No. 22). Plaintiff mailed service packages to the Marshals Service on May 12, 2009, and process was effectuated on June 2 and 4, 2009. On August 21, 2009, Defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint. The motion was fully submitted on September 22, 2009, and was subsequently referred to the Honorable Theodore H. Katz, Magistrate Judge, for a Report and Recommendation.
On February 25, 2010, Judge Katz issued a Report recommending that Defendants' motion be granted in its entirety. Specifically, Judge Katz recommended (1) dismissing claims against the remaining John Doe defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction; (2) dismissing claims against the United States, the United States Marshals Service, and the individual defendants in their official capacities as barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity; (3) dismissing as time-barred all claims against the individual defendants that are based on events that took place before January 2, 2006; and (4) dismissing the remaining timely claims for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. In the Report, Judge Katz advised the parties that failure to file timely objections within fourteen days from service of the Report would constitute a waiver of those objections. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b). No party has filed objections to the Report, and the time to do so has expired. Cf. Frank v. Johnson, 968 F.2d 298 (2d Cir. 1993).
When no objections to a report and recommendation are made, the Court may adopt the report if there is no clear error on the face of the record. Adee Motor Cars, LLC v. Amato, 388 F. Supp. 2d 250, 253 (S.D.N.Y. 2005); La Torres v. Walker, 216 F. Supp. 2d 157, 159 (S.D.N.Y. 2000). After conducting a thorough review of the record, the Court finds that Judge Katz's well-reasoned and persuasive Report and Recommendation is not facially erroneous. Accordingly, the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. For the reasons set forth therein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted. The clerk of the court is respectfully directed to terminate the motion found at Doc. No. 35 and to close this case.
SO ORDERED.