Madilynn Mary Ellen Every v. MGM Trucking LLC, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to grant the plaintiff leave to amend and add a party. Because adding a North Carolina defendant destroyed complete diversity, the court remanded the action to Cabarrus County Superior Court and ordered each party to bear its own costs and attorney’s fees.

Holdings

1. When no party objects to a magistrate judge's recommendation, the district court need only determine whether there is clear error on the face of the record before accepting the recommendation.
2. Adding a North Carolina corporate defendant destroyed complete diversity and deprived the federal court of subject matter jurisdiction, requiring remand to state court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the magistrate judge's recommendation should be accepted in the absence of objections under a clear-error standard of review.
2. Whether adding a North Carolina corporate defendant destroyed complete diversity and required remand for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Disposition

remanded