Handy v. Diggins et al
Filing
152
ORDER Affirming and Adopting Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge. ORDERED that the Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge, is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED. ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint 93 GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART consistent with the Recommendation by Chief Judge Wiley Y. Daniel on 02/08/12.(jjhsl, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Chief Judge Wiley Y. Daniel
Civil Action No. 10-cv-02022-WYD-KMT
WYATT T. HANDY, JR.,
Plaintiff,
v.
CHIEF DIGGINS;
MAJOR V. CONNORS; and
CHAPLAIN SCOTT,
Defendants.
ORDER AFFIRMING AND ADOPTING RECOMMENDATION
OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
THIS MATTER is before the Court in connection with Plaintiff’s “Motion for Leave
to File an Amended Complaint” filed July 20, 2011. This motion was referred to
Magistrate Judge Tafoya for a recommendation by Order of Reference dated
September 13, 2010, and Memorandum of July 20, 2011. A Recommendation of United
States Magistrate Judge was issued on December 21, 2011, and is incorporated herein
by reference. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a).
By way of background and as explained in the Recommendation, this case
involves claims that Defendants violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) and the First and Fourteenth Amendments by refusing to
provide Plaintiff with a kosher diet in accordance with his religious beliefs.
(Recommendation at 1.) Plaintiff seeks to amend his Second Amended Prisoner
Complaint (ECF. No. 58) to (1) add the City and County of Denver, a “Mr. Burris”, the
Panel of Islamic Clerics, and Taalibdin Al-Amin as defendants; (2) reflect that Plaintiff is
suing Defendants Diggins, Connors, Scott, as well as proposed defendants Burris and
the Panel of Islamic Clerics, in both their official and individual capacities; (3) add ten
more claims for relief (five constitutional claims and five state-law tort claims); (4) add
an exemplary damages claim for his state-law tort claims; and (5) “eliminate
repetitiveness, surplusage, and come closer to the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule
[sic] 8(a).” (Recommendation at 2) (citing Mot. for Leave to Leave to File an Am.
Compl. [“Mot. to Amend”] at 1–2; ECF No. 93-1 [Proposed Am. Compl.]) Defendants
oppose the motion to amend.
Magistrate Judge Tafoya recommends therein that Plaintiff’s motion to amend be
granted in part and denied in part. (Recommendation at 13.) Specifically, she
recommends that Plaintiff’s motion to amend be denied pursuant to the law of the case
doctrine as to Plaintiff’s attempt to renew claims for compensatory damages,
declaratory and injunctive relief, and Free Exercise, Equal Protection and Due Process
Claims against Defendants in their official capacities that were previously dismissed by
the Court. (Id. at 4-5.) Magistrate Judge Tafoya also recommends that the motion to
amend be denied as to certain of the proposed claims because the proposed
amendment would be futile. (Id. 5-12.) This includes Plaintiff’s attempt to add the City
and County of Denver as a defendant (id. 5-9), to assert 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1983(3)
claims against Mr. Burris (id. at 9-11), and to assert claims against proposed defendant
Taalibdin Al-Amin. (Id. 11-12.) As to the other proposed amendments, Magistrate
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Judge Tafoya recommends that Plaintiff’s motion to amend be granted, and that the
clerk of court be directed to file Plaintiff’s third proposed amended complaint with the
exceptions noted in the Recommendation.
Magistrate Judge Tafoya advised the parties that specific written objections were
due within fourteen (14) days of service of a copy of the Recommendation.
(Recommendation at 14.) Despite this advisement, no objections were filed by any
party to the Magistrate Judge's Recommendation. No objections having been filed, I am
vested with discretion to review the Recommendation “under any standard [I] deem[]
appropriate.” Summers v. Utah, 927 F.2d 1165, 1167 (10th Cir. 1991); see
also Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 150 (1985) (stating that “[i]t does not appear that
Congress intended to require district court review of a magistrate's factual or legal
conclusions, under a de novo or any other standard, when neither party objects to those
findings”"). Nonetheless, though not required to do so, I review the Recommendation to
“satisfy [my]self that there is no clear error on the face of the record.”1 See Fed. R. Civ.
P. 72(b) Advisory Committee Notes.
Having reviewed the Recommendation, I am satisfied that there is no clear error
on the face of the record. I find that Magistrate Judge Tafoya correctly analyzed the
merits of the motion to amend as required pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), and that
her recommendations regarding the proposed amendments are valid and proper.
Accordingly, it is
1
Note, this standard of review is something less than a "clearly erroneous or contrary to law" standard
of review, Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a), which in turn is less than a de novo review, Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b).
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ORDERED that the Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge dated
December 21, 2011, is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED. In accordance therewith, it is
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint filed
July 20, 2011 (ECF No. 93) GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART consistent
with the Recommendation. The Clerk of Court shall accept for filing Plaintiff’s proposed
Third Amended Prisoner Complaint (ECF No. 93-1) with the following exceptions: (1)
Plaintiff’s claims for compensatory damages are not accepted; (2) Plaintiff’s claims for
declaratory and injunctive relief are not accepted; (3) Plaintiff’s Free Exercise, Equal
Protection, and Due Process claims against Defendants in their official capacity are not
accepted; (4) Plaintiff’s claims against the City and County of Denver are not accepted;
(5) Plaintiff’s claims against Taalibdin Al-Amin are not accepted; and (6) Plaintiff’s
claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985(3) against Mr. Burris are not accepted.
Dated: February 8, 2012
BY THE COURT:
s/ Wiley Y. Daniel
Wiley Y. Daniel
Chief United States District Judge
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