Braun v. Vierzba
- Jerry Blackwell
- 0:26-cv-00511
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 1
In Braun v. Vierzba, Judge Blackwell dismissed without prejudice the complaint filed by plaintiff Nathan C. Braun, accepting a magistrate judge's recommendation that went unchallenged.
Plaintiff Nathan C. Braun, whose complaint was dismissed without prejudice, and whose request to proceed without paying court fees was denied as moot. The nature of the underlying claims is not described in this order.
What happened
In Braun v. Vierzba (Civ. No. 26-511), plaintiff Nathan C. Braun filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against defendant Christopher Vierzba. Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko had previously issued a Report and Recommendation on January 28, 2026, recommending dismissal of the case, and no party filed any objections to that recommendation within the allowed time.
Because no objections were filed, Judge Blackwell reviewed the Report and Recommendation only for obvious ('clear') legal error — a less intensive standard of review than would apply if objections had been raised. Finding no clear error, the court adopted the magistrate judge's recommendation in full.
Judge Blackwell ordered Braun's complaint dismissed without prejudice, meaning Braun is not permanently barred from refiling. The court also denied as moot Braun's request to proceed without paying court fees or costs, since the case was being dismissed anyway.
The detailed version
This is a short order by United States District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell of the District of Minnesota, entered February 25, 2026, in Braun v. Vierzba, Civ. No. 26-511 (JWB/DLM).
Procedural posture: Plaintiff Nathan C. Braun filed a complaint (Doc. No. 1) against defendant Christopher Vierzba. He simultaneously filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis — i.e., without prepaying filing fees or costs (Doc. No. 2). United States Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko issued a Report and Recommendation ('R&R') on January 28, 2026 (Doc. No. 3), recommending dismissal. No party filed objections within the time permitted.
Standard of review: Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b) and Eighth Circuit precedent (Grinder v. Gammon, 73 F.3d 793, 795 (8th Cir. 1996)), when no timely objections are filed to a magistrate judge's R&R, the district court reviews the R&R only for clear error. Judge Blackwell found no clear error.
Rulings:
- The January 28, 2026 R&R (Doc. No. 3) is accepted in full.
- Braun's complaint (Doc. No. 1) is dismissed without prejudice — meaning Braun is not permanently barred from refiling a corrected or new complaint.
- Braun's application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs (Doc. No. 2) is denied as moot, because the dismissal of the complaint renders that request no longer relevant.
Notably, this order does not itself recite the substantive grounds for dismissal; those grounds would be found in Magistrate Judge Micko's underlying R&R (Doc. No. 3), which is not reproduced here. The nature of the claims, the reason for dismissal, and the identity of the parties beyond their names are not described in the order.
Reviewer note from the AI+
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.