Greene v. Stirling et al

Filing 63

ORDER RULING ON REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION: The court adopts the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation and incorporates it herein. (ECF No. 26 ). It is therefore ORDERED that Plaintiff's Complaint (ECF No. 1 ) is partially summarily dismissed without prejudice as to Defendants SCDC Director Bryan Stirling, SCDPPPS Director Jerry Adger, Warden Cecilia Reynolds, and Vivian McCall. Signed by Honorable J Michelle Childs on 4/21/2017. (mcot, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ORANGEBURG DIVISION

Christopher Greene,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
Bryan P. Stirling;
)
Jerry B. Adger;
)
Cecilia Reynolds;
)
Angelica Brown;
)
Vivian McCall;
)
Tonia Washington;
)
Tonya Nelson;
)
Sophia Richardson;
)
Sara Adger;
)
Ms. Smith, and
)
Jason Summers,
)
)
Defendants.
)
____________________________________)

Civil Case No. 5:16-cv-00587-JMC

ORDER

Pro Se Plaintiff Christopher Greene (“Plaintiff”), a former inmate at Lee Correctional
Institution, Lieber Correctional Institution, and MacDougall Correctional Institutions in the South
Carolina Department of Corrections (“SCDC”), filed this civil action against 1) Mr. Bryan P.
Stirling; 2) Mr. Jerry B. Adger; 3) Ms. Cecilia Reynolds; 4) Ms. Angelica Brown; 5) Ms. Vivian
McCall; 6) Ms. Tonia Washington; 7) Ms. Tonya Nelson; 8) Ms. Sophia Richardson; 9) Ms. Sara
Adger; 10) Ms. Smith; and 11) Jason Summers (“Defendants”). Plaintiff claims that his federal
constitutional rights under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were violated when
SCDC and the South Carolina Department of Probation Parole and Pardon Services (“SCDPPPS”)
staff members issued disciplinary sanctions against him because he refused to attend an alcohol
treatment program as a condition of parole. (ECF No. 1 at 4-9.) Although Plaintiff names a total

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of eleven Defendants in his Complaint, the only parties mentioned within the body of the
Complaint are Defendants Smith, Jason Summers, Tonya Nelson, Sophia Richardson, Tonia
Washington, Tonya Nelson, Brown, and Sara Adger. Plaintiff states that his disciplinary sanctions
include loss of canteen privileges for 30 days, loss of telephone privileges for 30 days, and loss of
30 days of good-time credits. (ECF No. 12.) Furthermore, Plaintiff requests damages in the
amount of $35,000.00, a jury trial, declaratory relief, and reimbursement of his court fees. (ECF
No. 1 at 9.)
The Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, filed on May 17, 2017, partially
determined that Plaintiff failed to establish a plausible 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against Defendants
SCDC Director Bryan Stirling, SCDPPPS Director Jerry Adger, and Warden Cecilia Reynolds.
The Magistrate Judge determined that Plaintiff made no allegations that these Defendants had any
personal knowledge of the issues he allegedly had with SCDC and SCDPPPS staff members
regarding his parole matters. (ECF No. 1.) These three supervisors were not mentioned in
Plaintiff’s allegations. (ECF No. 26 at 5.) The Magistrate Judge further determined that Defendant
Vivian McCall was not mentioned in the body of the Complaint. The only place that this Defendant
is referenced was in the caption of the Complaint where Defendants’ names were itemized. Id. The
Report and Recommendation sets forth in detail the relevant facts and legal standards on this
matter, and the court incorporates the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation herein without a
recitation.
The Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation is made in accordance with 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1) and Local Civil Rule 73.02 for the District of South Carolina. The Magistrate Judge
makes only a recommendation to this court. The recommendation has no presumptive weight. The
responsibility to make a final determination remains with this court. Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S.

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261, 270-71 (1976). The court is charged with making a de novo determination of those portions
of the Report and Recommendation to which specific objections are made, and the court may
accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation or recommit
the matter with instructions. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
Plaintiff was advised of his right to file objections to the Report and Recommendation
(ECF No. 26 at 7.) However, Plaintiff filed no objections to the Report and Recommendation. In
the absence of objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, this court is not
required to provide an explanation for adopting the recommendation. Camby v. Davis, 718 F.2d
198, 199 (4th Cir. 1983). Rather, “in the absence of a timely filed objection, a district court need
not conduct a de novo 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.’” Diamond v. Colonial Life & Acc.
Ins. Co., 416 F.3d 310, 315 (4th Cir. 2005) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 72 advisory committee’s note).
Furthermore, failure to file specific written objections to the Report and Recommendation results
in a party’s waiver of the right to appeal from the judgment of the District Court based upon such
recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (1985); Wright v. Collins,
766 F.2d 841 (4th Cir. 1985); United States v. Schronce, 727 F.2d 91 (4th Cir. 1984).
After a thorough review of the Report and Recommendation and the record in this case,
the court adopts the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation and incorporates it herein.
(ECF No. 26.)

It is therefore ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint (ECF No. 1) is partially

summarily dismissed without prejudice as to Defendants SCDC Director Bryan Stirling,
SCDPPPS Director Jerry Adger, Warden Cecilia Reynolds, and Vivian McCall.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

United States District Judge
April 21, 2017
Columbia, South Carolina

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