THOMPSON v. SLATZER et al

Filing 83

MEMORANDUM ORDER: AND NOW, this 16th day of February, 2021; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for "summary/declaratory" judgment [ECF No. 38] is DENIED. The report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge Lanzillo, issued January 29, 2021 [ECF No. 81], is adopted as the opinion of the Court. Signed by Judge Susan Paradise Baxter on 2/16/21. (esa)

Case 1:19-cv-00282-SPB-RAL Document 83 Filed 02/16/21 Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
ANTHONY RAY THOMPSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
LISA SLATZER, et al.,
Defendants.

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C.A. No. 19-282 Erie
District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter
Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo

MEMORANDUM ORDER
Plaintiff Anthony R. Thompson, an inmate formerly incarcerated at the State Correctional
Institution at Forest in Marienville, Pennsylvania (“SCI-Forest”),1 initiated this pro se civil rights
action in the Court of Common Pleas of Forest County, Pennsylvania, against Defendants Lisa
Slatzer, a counselor at SCI-Forest, and Rex Hildebrand, an Inmate Classification Systems
Analyst. On September 30, 2019, Defendants properly removed the case to this Court, and this
matter was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo for report and
recommendation in accordance with the Magistrates Act, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), and Rules
72.1.3 and 72.1.4 of the Local Rules for Magistrates. The case was subsequently reassigned to
the undersigned, as presiding judge, on November 14, 2019, with Judge Lanzillo remaining as
the referred Magistrate Judge for all pretrial proceedings.
In his pro se complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants miscalculated his Inmate
Custody Level Classification, resulting in the loss of his “incentive transfer” to another

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Plaintiff is presently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Albion, Pennsylvania.

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Pennsylvania state institution and prison job, in violation of his Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendment rights and DOC rules. On June 5, 2020, Plaintiff filed a motion for
“summary/declaratory” judgment [ECF No. 38]; however, the motion was not accompanied by
either a concise statement of material facts or a supporting brief, as required by Rule 56(B) of the
Local Rules of this Court. Nonetheless, Defendants filed a brief in opposition to Plaintiff’s
motion [ECF No. 50], to which Plaintiff filed a response [ECF No. 54].
On January 29, 2021, Magistrate Judge Lanzillo issued a report and recommendation
(“R&R”) recommending that Defendant’s motion for “summary/declaratory” judgment [ECF
No. 38] be denied as a result of Plaintiff’s failure to comply with Local Rule 56(B). [ECF No.
81]. Timely objections to the R&R have since been filed by Plaintiff, in which Plaintiff argues
that he was unable to submit a brief with case citation because “the DOC is preventing inmates
from attending the law library due to a major Covid-19 infestation at SCI-Albion since late Dec.,
2020….” (ECF No. 82, at ¶ 1). However, this argument in no way justifies Plaintiff’s failure to
file a brief with his motion, which was filed in June 2020, nor does it account for the lack of a
statement of material facts. As the Magistrate Judge aptly notes, a pro se litigant may not ignore
procedural rules simply because they are proceeding without legal counsel. (ECF No. 81, at p. 4).
Moreover, the merits of Plaintiff’s claims and legal arguments will still be fully and fairly
considered by the Court in connection with its determination of Defendants’ own motion for
summary judgment [ECF No. 74], which remains pending.
Thus, after de novo review of the complaint and documents in this case, together with the
report and recommendation and objections thereto, the following order is entered:
AND NOW, this 16th day of February, 2021;

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for “summary/declaratory”
judgment [ECF No. 38] is DENIED. The report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge
Lanzillo, issued January 29, 2021 [ECF No. 81], is adopted as the opinion of the Court.

_______________________________
SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER
United States District Judge
cc:

The Honorable Richard A. Lanzillo
United States Magistrate Judge