Weddington v. South Carolina Department of Corrections et al

Filing 18

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS for 15 Report and Recommendations, that defendants' 9 Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Lee Correctional Institution, South Carolina Department of Corrections is Granted and plaintiff's complaint be Dismissed with prejudice. Signed by Honorable G Ross Anderson, Jr on 2/23/09. (kmca)

THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA ANDERSON/GREENWOOD DIVISION James Weddington, #320238 ) ) CA No. 8:08-1652-GRA-BHH Plaintiff, ) ORDER ) v. ) ) South Carolina Department of ) Corrections, and Lee Correctional ) Institution, ) Defendants. ) ) This matter comes before the Court to review the magistrate's Report and Recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 73.02(B)(2)(d), D.S.C., filed on January 21, 2009. Plaintiff originally filed a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The magistrate now recommends that the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED and the Plaintiff's complaint be DISMISSED with prejudice. For the reasons stated herein, this Court adopts the magistrate's recommendation. Plaintiff brings this claim pro se. This Court is required to construe pro se pleadings liberally. Such pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by attorneys. See Gordon v. Leeke, 574 F.2d 1147, 1151 (4th Cir. 1978). This Court is charged with liberally construing a pleading filed by a pro se litigant to allow for the development of a potentially meritorious claim. See Boag v. MacDougall, 454 U.S. 364, 365 (1982).

The magistrate makes only a recommendation to this Court.

The

recommendation has no presumptive weight, and responsibility for making a final determination remains with this Court. Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261, 270-71 (1976). This Court is charged with making a de novo determination of those portions of the Report and Recommendation to which specific objection is made, and this Court may "accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). This Court may also "receive further evidence or recommit the matter to the magistrate with instructions." Id. In the absence of specific objections to the Report and Recommendation, this Court is not required to give any explanation for adopting the recommendation. Camby v. Davis, 718 F.2d 198 (4th. Cir. 1983). The plaintiff filed no objections to the Report and Recommendation. After a review of the magistrate's Report and Recommendation, applicable case law, and the record, this Court finds that the magistrate applied sound legal principles to the facts of this case. Therefore, this Court adopts the Report and

Recommendation in its entirety. Wherefore, based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED that the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED and the Plaintiff's complaint be DISMISSED with prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

Anderson, South Carolina February 23, 2009 NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL Pursuant to Rules 3 and 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Plaintiff has the right to appeal this Order within thirty (30) days from the date of its entry. Failure to meet this deadline, as modified by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, will waive the right to appeal.

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