Bey v. Duff et al

Filing 29

ORDER adopting Report and Recommendations of Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant. Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed without prejudice and without issuance of service of process. Signed by Honorable Richard M Gergel on 11/14/2017.(cwhi, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Reginald Gerrill Toomer Bey,

Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. : 2:17-cv-1004

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ORDER AND OPINION

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Magistrate John Duff, Sergeant Steven
Evans, N. Charleston Police Department,
N. Charleston Municipal Court,
Defendants.

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This matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation ("R. & R.") of the
Magistrate Judge (Dkt. No. 27) recommending that this Court dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint
without prejudice and without issuance of service of process. For the reasons set forth below, this
Court adopts the R. & R. as the order of the Court. The Complaint is dismissed without
prejudice.

I.

Background and Relevant Facts
Plaintiff Reginald Gerrill Toomer Bey is proceeding pro se. On February 24, 2017,

Plaintiff was charged with driving without a license and a non-criminal seatbelt offense. On May
11 , 2017, Plaintiff was tried in his absence in a bench trial, found guilty of both charges, and
fined $155.00 on the driving without a license charge and $25.00 on the seatbelt charge. Plaintiff
filed this civil action seeking monetary damages and to have all charges against him dismissed
and "the protection of my Rights to travel on my land." (Dkt. No. 1 at 5.)

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II.

Legal Standards
a. Pro Se Pleadings
This Court liberally construes complaints filed by pro se litigants to allow the

development of a potentially meritorious case. See Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972); Haines v.

Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972). The requirement of liberal construction does not mean that the
Court can ignore a clear failure in the pleadings to allege facts which set forth a viable federal
claim, nor can the Court assume the existence of a genuine issue of material fact where none
exists. See Weller v. Dep 't of Social Services, 901F.2d387 (4th Cir. 1990).

b. Magistrate's Report and Recommendation
The Magistrate Judge makes only a recommendation to this Court. The recommendation
has no presumptive weight, and the responsibility for making a final determination remains with
this Court. See Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261 , 270- 71 (1976). This Court is charged with
making a de nova determination of those portions of the Report and Recommendation to which
specific objection is made. Additionally, the Court may "accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in
part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l).
Where the plaintiff fails to file any specific objections, "a district court need not conduct a de

nova review, but instead must only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the
record in order to accept the recommendation." See Diamond v. Colonial Life & Accident Ins.

Co. , 416 F.3d 310, 315 (4th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation omitted).
III.

Discussion
The Magistrate Judge explained in the R. & R. that Plaintiffs Complaint is subject to

dismissal because, among other deficiencies, it fails to meet the requirements of Rule 8(a) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which requires a short and plain statement of the basis for this

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Court's jurisdiction and the basis for Plaintiffs claims. Here, Plaintiffs allegations are generally
incomprehensible, and to the extent they are comprehensible, they are totally lacking in merit.
(Dkt. No. 27 at 4-11 .) For example, Plaintiff claims that the Treaty of Peace and Friendship
(presumably between Morocco and the United States) is the basis for jurisdiction in this case
even though Courts routinely reject such claims. (Id. at 4-5.)
Plaintiff has not filed any Objections to the R. & R. This Court finds that the Magistrate
Judge has correctly applied the controlling law to the facts of this case while liberally construing
the pro se Complaint.

IV.

Conclusion

For the reasons set forth above, this Court adopts the R. & R. (Dkt. No. 27) as the order
of the Court. Plaintiffs Complaint is dismissed without prejudice and without issuance of service
of process.

AND IT IS SO ORDERED.

Richard Mark Gergel
United States District Court Judge
November
{ L/ , 2017
Charleston, South Carolina

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