Dawn McGuire Smith v. Greenwood County Sheriff's Office; Dennis Kelly; and Cody Bishop

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina adopted a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation and dismissed the action with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute. The court noted that the plaintiff had not participated in discovery or mediation, had not opposed summary judgment, and had not objected to the Report. The court alternatively agreed that summary judgment was warranted because of deficiencies involving exhaustion, timeliness, and the alleged privilege applicable to the malicious prosecution claim.

Holdings

1. When a party files no timely specific objections to a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, the district court need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record before accepting the recommendation.
2. Dismissal with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) was warranted because Plaintiff failed to prosecute the action by not participating in discovery, mediation, or briefing on Defendants' summary-judgment motion.
3. Summary judgment would also be appropriate for the reasons stated in the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, including the asserted defects in Plaintiff's SCHAL, malicious-prosecution, and Title VII claims.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court could accept the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation under a clear-error standard when Plaintiff filed no specific objections.
2. Whether dismissal with prejudice was warranted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute.
3. Whether Defendants were alternatively entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff's SCHAL, malicious-prosecution, and Title VII claims.

Disposition

dismissed