Wirth v. Burton
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:24-cv-01595
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Wirth v. Burton, Judge Eric Tostrud dismissed the action without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and denied plaintiffs’ applications to proceed without paying filing fees as moot.
The action brought by Donald Joseph Wirth, Jr., and Nicholas Thomas Stroeder against James Julis Burton and the Doe defendants was dismissed without prejudice. The plaintiffs’ applications to proceed without paying filing fees were denied as moot.
What happened
In Wirth v. Burton, Donald Joseph Wirth, Jr., and Nicholas Thomas Stroeder brought an action against James Julis Burton and several unidentified defendants.
The court reviewed a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation because no party objected to it. Finding no clear error, the court accepted the recommendation and dismissed the action without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. It also denied the plaintiffs’ applications to proceed without paying filing fees as moot.
Judge Eric C. Tostrud entered the order on July 11, 2024, and directed that judgment be entered.
The detailed version
- Wirth v. Burton · No. 0:24-cv-01595
- Eric Tostrud
- July 11, 2024
Background
Donald Joseph Wirth, Jr., and Nicholas Thomas Stroeder were the plaintiffs. The defendants were James Julis Burton, four defendants identified as Jane Doe, and five defendants identified as John Doe.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation on June 11, 2024. No party objected. The district court therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake in the magistrate judge’s decision.
Ruling
The court found no clear error and accepted the Report and Recommendation. It dismissed the action without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning the court lacked legal authority to decide the matter. The court also denied the plaintiffs’ applications to proceed in forma pauperis—that is, applications to proceed without paying filing fees—as moot. The order directed that judgment be entered.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.