Braun v. D.O.C.

Background

Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation on January 27, 2020. It recommended denying Nathan Christopher Braun’s motion to object and granting in part and denying in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The recommendation included dismissing Braun’s retaliation and access-to-court claims.

Objection

Braun’s objection included additional factual allegations intended to support the retaliation and access-to-court claims. The district court explained that an objection to a magistrate judge’s recommendation is for identifying the specific parts of the recommendation being challenged and the reasons for the challenge. It is not an opportunity to add allegations to cure defects in an amended complaint. The court concluded that Braun had not properly specified the portions of the recommendation to which he objected or provided a basis for those objections.

Ruling

After conducting an independent review of the record, the court accepted the conclusions in the Report and Recommendation. Judge Joan N. Ericksen ordered that the defendants’ motion to dismiss was granted in part and denied in part, as discussed in the Report and Recommendation. The court also ordered that Braun’s motion to object was denied. The opinion does not itself identify the specific claims or portions of the motion covered by each part of the partial ruling beyond the discussion of the retaliation and access-to-court claims.