Sean Goins v. Director Ray

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina adopts in part a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation in Sean Goins’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court dismisses the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute and dismisses the defendant’s motion for summary judgment as moot.

Holdings

1. When no timely specific objections are filed, the district court need not conduct de novo review and may accept the recommendation after satisfying itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record.
2. The action was properly dismissed for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute after he failed to respond to the summary-judgment motion, the magistrate judge's additional deadline, and the Report and Recommendation.
3. The action was dismissed without prejudice rather than with prejudice.
4. Defendant's motion for summary judgment was dismissed as moot after the action itself was dismissed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court should accept the magistrate judge's recommendation after Plaintiff failed to file specific objections.
2. Whether the action should be dismissed for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute and failure to respond to the court's orders.
3. Whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice.
4. Whether Defendant's pending motion for summary judgment remained justiciable after dismissal of the action.

Disposition

dismissed