Summary
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action brought by Bonita Nelson concerning the death of her son while he was confined in TDCJ custody. The court dismissed claims against UTMB, Murray, and Russell without prejudice for lack of proper service, and dismissed claims against TDCJ, Collier, Lithicum, and Collum with prejudice for failure to state a claim.
Court
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division
Decision date
December 11, 2025
Docket number
6:24-cv-22-JDK-KNM
Disposition
dismissed
Questions Presented
- What standard of review governs a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation when no party files objections?
- Whether the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the claims against UTMB, Murray, and Russell without prejudice for lack of proper service should be adopted.
- Whether the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the claims against TDCJ, Collier, Lithicum, and Collum with prejudice for failure to state a claim should be adopted.
Holdings
- When no objections are filed to a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, the district court reviews the findings for clear error or abuse of discretion and reviews the legal conclusions to determine whether they are contrary to law.
- The claims against UTMB, Murray, and Russell were dismissed without prejudice for lack of proper service.
- The claims against TDCJ, Collier, Lithicum, and Collum were dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
Court Document
Open PDFLoading document…