Spottswood v. Woodbury Police Dept
- Wilhelmina Wright
- 0:22-cv-02604
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Spottswood v. Woodbury Police Department, Judge Wright dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute and denied the fee application as moot.
Shawn Clarke Spottswood’s complaint against the Woodbury Police Department was dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. His application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs was denied as moot.
What happened
Shawn Clarke Spottswood sued the Woodbury Police Department. A magistrate judge recommended dismissing the complaint because Spottswood had not prosecuted his claim, and no one objected to that recommendation.
Judge Wright reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none. The court adopted it and dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The court also denied Spottswood’s application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs as moot.
Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright entered the order on January 10, 2023. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Spottswood v. Woodbury Police Dept · No. 0:22-cv-02604
- Wilhelmina Wright
- Jan. 10, 2023
Background
Shawn Clarke Spottswood brought a complaint against the Woodbury Police Department. United States Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty issued a December 1, 2022 report and recommendation recommending dismissal. The opinion states that no objections were filed.
Court’s analysis
When no timely objections are filed, the district court reviews a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation for clear error. Judge Wright reviewed the recommendation and found no clear error. The court dismissed the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to pursue the claim.
Disposition
The court adopted the December 1, 2022 report and recommendation. It dismissed Spottswood’s complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The court also denied as moot Spottswood’s application to proceed in district court without prepaying fees or costs. The order did not reach the merits of the complaint.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.