Hinojosa v. Robert E. Judge PC

Background

Yajaira Hinojosa, representing herself, filed this action against Robert E. Judge PC (REJ), described in the opinion as a debt collector. She sued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law regulating debt-collection practices. Hinojosa alleged that, when REJ attempted to collect a debt from her, it failed to provide a “bill of assignment” or other documentary evidence of its authority to collect on behalf of the creditor.

Motion and Report

REJ moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which permits dismissal when a complaint does not state a legally sufficient claim. The court gave Hinojosa a deadline to file an amended complaint or oppose the motion. After her initial deadline passed, Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses extended it, and Hinojosa filed an opposition.

Judge Moses later issued a Report and Recommendation advising that the motion to dismiss be granted. The opinion states that neither party objected. Because there were no objections, Judge Engelmayer reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake apparent from the record. He found no such error and adopted the report in full. The opinion itself does not repeat the report’s detailed reasoning for recommending dismissal.

Ruling

The court granted REJ’s motion to dismiss. It also directed the Clerk of Court to close all pending motions and dismiss the action with prejudice, which bars refiling the dismissed action. The court stated that the parties’ failure to object to the recommendation waived appellate review of the issues covered by that recommendation.

Disposition

The motion to dismiss was granted. The action was dismissed with prejudice, and the Clerk of Court was directed to close the pending motions.