Wilkening v. US Department of Education
- Paul Magnuson
- 0:20-cv-01574
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Wilkening v. US Department of Education, Judge Magnuson adopted the recommendation and dismissed Christopher Wilkening’s complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
Christopher Wilkening’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice; the defendants were affected by the termination of this case.
What happened
Christopher Wilkening sued the US Department of Education, Justice Department Debt Collection Services, and the US Department of Education’s National Payment Center/Fed Loan Servicing. A magistrate judge recommended dismissing his complaint without prejudice because he failed to prosecute the case.
The district court reviewed the recommendation and found no error in the magistrate judge’s reasoning. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or explain the conduct that led to the failure-to-prosecute finding.
Judge Paul A. Magnuson adopted the recommendation and ordered that the complaint be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The court also directed that judgment be entered.
The detailed version
- Wilkening v. US Department of Education · No. 0:20-cv-01574
- Paul Magnuson
- Dec. 29, 2021
Background
Christopher Wilkening brought the case against the US Department of Education, Justice Department Debt Collection Services, and US Department of Education – National Payment Ctr/Fed Loan Servicing. The opinion does not describe the claims in the complaint.
Report and Recommendation
United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation dated December 13, 2021. It recommended dismissing Wilkening’s complaint without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal did not bar refiling based on the dismissal itself.
Court’s Review and Ruling
The district court stated that it must review de novo—that is, independently—any part of a magistrate judge’s recommendation to which specific objections are made. If no objections are made, the court reviews the recommendation for clear error. The court reviewed the recommendation and found no error, clear or otherwise, in the magistrate judge’s reasoning.
The court adopted the Report and Recommendation and dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute. It directed that judgment be entered accordingly.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.