Middlebrooks v. Brandt et al

Filing 69

DECISION AND ORDER adopting Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott's Report and Recommendation 65 . Defendants' motion for summary judgment 57 is granted. The Clerk of Court shall take all steps necessary to close the case. A copy of the Deci sion and Order along with this entry have been mailed to Curtis Middlebrooks, 00-B-1178, MOHAWK CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, Box 8451, Rome, NY 13440. SO ORDERED. Signed by Hon. Richard J. Arcara on 3/21/2018. (LAS)-CLERK TO FOLLOW UP-

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

CURTIS MIDDLEBROOKS,
Plaintiff,
DECISION AND ORDER
15-CV-1054A

v.
SUPERINTENDENT M. BRADT, et al.,

Defendants.

This case was referred to Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1)(B). On January 2, 2018, Magistrate Judge Scott filed a Report and
Recommendation (Dkt. No. 65), recommending that the Defendants’ motion for
summary judgment (Dkt. No. 57) be granted for a variety of reasons, including, as
relevant here, that Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing
this lawsuit. Specifically, Judge Scott noted that, “[a]s defendants demonstrate and as
plaintiff admits, plaintiff failed to exhaust his grievance and appellate rights, only going
so far as the second tier in the three-tier grievance and appeal process in his third
grievance.” Dkt. No. 65 at 22.
On January 22, 2018, Plaintiff filed objections to the Report and
Recommendation. Dkt. No. 66. Plaintiff did not, however, object to Judge Scott’s
conclusion that Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. Failure to object
to a magistrate judge’s recommendation means that the district court reviews the
recommendation only for clear error. See, e.g., United States v. Preston, 635 F. Supp.
2d 267, 269 (W.D.N.Y. 2009).

The Court adopts Judge Scott’s recommendation that the Defendants’ motion for
summary judgment should be granted because Plaintiff failed to exhaust his
administrative remedies. The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires a prisoner to
“proper[ly] exhaust[]” administrative remedies, “which means using all steps that the
agency holds out, and doing so properly (so that the agency addresses the issue on the
merits.)” Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 90 (2006) (quotation marks omitted; emphasis
in original). Plaintiff has not shown that there is a genuine factual dispute over whether
he properly exhausted his grievance and, thus, summary judgment must be granted for
the Defendants. Because the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation on this
basis, the Court need not address Plaintiff’s objections to the remainder of Judge
Scott’s recommendations.
Thus, the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 57) is granted.
The Clerk of Court shall take all steps necessary to close the case.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

____Richard J. Arcara____________
HONORABLE RICHARD J. ARCARA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Dated: March 21, 2018