Summary
The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina reviewed a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation recommending dismissal of Torrance Deon Batts’s pro se complaint. Because no objections were filed, the court reviewed the recommendation for clear error, adopted it, and dismissed the action without issuance or service of process, without leave to amend, and without prejudice.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court should review the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation for clear error when the plaintiff filed no objections.
- Whether the court should accept the Report and Recommendation and dismiss the action without issuance and service of process, without leave to amend, and without prejudice.
Holdings
- When no timely objection is filed, the district court need not conduct de novo review and instead reviews the Report and Recommendation for clear error on the face of the record.
- The court accepted the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation and dismissed the action without issuance and service of process, without leave to amend, and without prejudice.
Key quotations
“The Court will review the Report only for clear error in the absence of an objection.”
“Accordingly, this action is dismissed without issuance and service of process, without leave to amend, and without prejudice.”
Factual background
Torrance Deon Batts filed a pro se complaint against Alan Wilson, Attorney General. The magistrate judge recommended dismissal without issuance and service of process and without leave to amend. Batts did not file objections, and the objection period expired.
Procedural history
Plaintiff filed a pro se complaint on December 1, 2025. The matter was referred to Magistrate Judge William S. Brown, who recommended dismissal without issuance and service of process and without leave to amend. After Plaintiff failed to object within the prescribed period, the district court reviewed the Report for clear error, accepted it, incorporated it by reference, and dismissed the action without prejudice.