Opinion
CIVIL SA-23-CV-538-OLG
09-20-2024
BRUCE SMITH Plaintiff v. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM, JOANN BROWNING, THOMAS TAYLOR EIGHMY, and THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM BOARD OF REGENTS Defendants
ORDER
ORLANDO L. GARCIA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On this date, the Court considered the report and recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth S. Chestney, filed in the above-styled and numbered cause on August 21, 2024. Docket no. 37. Plaintiff and the Board of Regents have filed partial objections. Docket nos. 39,40. The Court has conducted a de novo review of the objected to portions of the recommendation. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); FED. R. CIV. P. 72(b)(3). The remainder of the recommendation has been reviewed for clear error.
After such review, the Court finds that the report and recommendation should be ACCEPTED, with one modification: Plaintiff must amend his complaint within 14 days from the date below to substitute the names of the individual members of the Board of Regents in their official capacities. See docket no. 37, p. 23. As the Magistrate Judge correctly noted, the Board of Regents as an entity is immune and although Plaintiff has expressed an intent to sue the individual members, he must name them. Plaintiffs pleading must be clear for the remaining claim to move forward.
No other changes to the pleading arc permitted.
It is therefore ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's recommendation (docket no. 37) is ACCEPTED AS MODIFIED; Defendants' motions to dismiss (docket nos. 19, 29) arc GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; and all claims except the FMLA retaliation claim for injunctive relief against the individual members of the Board of Regents in their official capacities arc DISMISSED for the reasons stated in the recommendation.
The only injunctive relief sought is reinstatement, which is decided by the Court.