Evis D. Nelson v. Nurse Kelly Aunspaugh, APRN V. Strickland, Dana Haynes, and Wellpath, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas adopted a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation in a prisoner civil-rights action alleging inadequate medical care. The court held that the plaintiff’s objections were not specific and found no clear error in the recommendation that the claims be dismissed, including dismissal of the individual-capacity claims without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The case was dismissed without prejudice on March 19, 2026.

Holdings

1. The October 30, 2025 filing was treated as Plaintiff's timely objections to the Report and Recommendation because it addressed findings made in that recommendation.
2. Because Plaintiff's objections were not specific, the district court reviewed the challenged recommendations for clear error rather than conducting de novo review.
3. The court adopted the recommendation to dismiss Plaintiff's claims without prejudice because he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing suit.
4. The Report and Recommendation was adopted in toto, including the recommendation concerning Wellpath, LLC and the official-capacity claims against its employees.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff's October 30, 2025 filing constituted timely objections to the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation.
2. Whether Plaintiff's objections were sufficiently specific to require de novo review.
3. Whether the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies should be adopted.
4. Whether the magistrate judge's recommendations concerning Wellpath, LLC and the official-capacity claims should be adopted.

Disposition

dismissed