Lawrence Terry v. Andreka Watlington; Suzanne H. Hawkins; Hawkins Law, LLC; Christina Perry; Hon. T. Frierson-Smith; Gray Collegiate Academy; John/Jane Doe Gray Employees 1-5; John/Jane Doe Court Officials 6-10

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina adopts a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation and summarily dismisses Lawrence Terry’s pro se civil action without prejudice and without issuance or service of process. The court concludes that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars most claims arising from state custody proceedings and that Terry failed to state viable procedural due process, ADA, or Rehabilitation Act claims.

Holdings

1. A district court must conduct de novo review of the specific portions of a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation to which a specific objection is made, while portions not specifically objected to may be reviewed for clear error; nonspecific objections do not require de novo review.
2. To the extent Terry's federal claims effectively challenged the state family-court custody decision and sought federal alteration of that decision, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred those claims.
3. Terry failed to state a procedural due process claim because he did not identify a proceeding from which he was excluded due to incapacity, a denied accommodation request, or facts showing that the alleged disability prevented his participation in the state custody proceedings.
4. Terry failed to plausibly allege that he was denied a public service based on a qualified disability in violation of the ADA or § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
5. The complaint was properly subject to summary dismissal at statutory screening because the claims were barred or failed to state a claim, and dismissal without prejudice was appropriate without issuance and service of process.
6. Appointment of counsel and leave to amend were properly denied where the action was subject to summary dismissal for reasons that could not be cured through more artful pleading and the plaintiff proposed no amendments or explanation showing that amendment would alter the result.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation should be adopted after de novo review of Terry's specific objections and clear-error review of the remainder.
2. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred claims that effectively challenged the state family-court custody decision.
3. Whether Terry plausibly alleged procedural due process violations based on denial of participation or reasonable accommodations in the state custody proceedings.
4. Whether Terry plausibly alleged denial of a public service based on a qualified disability in violation of the ADA or § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
5. Whether dismissal at statutory screening was proper and whether Terry demonstrated grounds for appointment of counsel or leave to amend.

Disposition

dismissed