Kimberly Monique Ross v. Captain Stephanie Horne

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi adopts a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation, grants the defendant’s motion to dismiss, and denies the plaintiff’s motions for relief and an expedited evidentiary hearing. The dismissal is based on the First Amended Complaint’s failure to establish subject-matter jurisdiction, but the plaintiff is granted 14 days to seek leave to amend.

Holdings

1. When no party timely objects to a magistrate judge's report and recommendation, the district court applies the clearly erroneous, abuse-of-discretion, and contrary-to-law standard rather than de novo review.
2. The First Amended Complaint failed to establish diversity or federal-question jurisdiction and therefore warranted dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
3. Ross's motion for relief was properly denied because she improperly sought relief in the federal action from a state-court judgment.
4. The motion for an expedited evidentiary hearing was properly denied because the court could not address the merits of Ross's claim unless and until it had subject matter jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court should adopt the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation when no party timely objected.
2. Whether the First Amended Complaint should be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because it failed to establish diversity or federal-question jurisdiction.
3. Whether Plaintiff's motion for relief from a state-court judgment and motion for an expedited evidentiary hearing should be denied.

Disposition

other