Johnson v. McCallum

Background

Todd L. Johnson, proceeding without a lawyer, brought claims under Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics based on interactions with defendants at a Social Security Administration office in Bronx, New York, in January 2023. The opinion describes Cliff McCallum as a contract security officer for the Federal Protective Service and Renee Casanas as a Federal Protective Service inspector. Johnson’s claims against McCallum alleged excessive force. His claims against Casanas alleged malicious prosecution and false arrest, based on Casanas’s issuance of a United States District Court Violation Notice that Johnson contended lacked a factual basis.

Motion and Recommendation

Casanas moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which addresses failure to state a legal claim, to dismiss Johnson’s claims against Casanas. Magistrate Judge Gary Stein recommended granting the motion and denying Johnson leave to amend again. No party filed objections to the recommendation.

Because there were no objections, Judge Engelmayer reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake in the record. He found no facial error and adopted Judge Stein’s report in its entirety.

Ruling

Judge Engelmayer granted Casanas’s motion to dismiss and dismissed Johnson’s claims against Casanas with prejudice. The court also denied Johnson leave to further amend. The case remains under Judge Stein’s pretrial supervision.

The court stated that the parties’ failure to object precluded appellate review of the decision. It also declined to issue a certificate of appealability and certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith; accordingly, it denied Johnson’s ability to proceed without paying filing fees for purposes of an appeal.