Singer v. Price et al

Filing 67

ORDER: The Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation 66 is APPROVED AND ADOPTED, and Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 60 ) is GRANTED. This is a final order. The Clerk shall enter judgment in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58. Signed by Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr on 5/20/2020. (xc:Pro se party by regular mail. ) (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(vh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
LEONARD SINGER,
Plaintiff,
v.
AARON PRICE, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 3:16-cv-02621

ORDER
On April 16, 2020, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”)
(Doc. No. 66) recommending that the Court grant Aaron Price, Ed Gorham, and Palmer Gibbs’
(collectively “Defendants”) Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 60). Leonard Singer,
proceeding pro se, did not file a response to Defendants’ motion or Statement of Undisputed
Material Facts (Doc. No. 62). Nor has he filed any timely objections to the R&R, despite the
R&R’s specific warnings regarding waiver. (See Doc. No. 66 at 13.)
The Court has thoroughly reviewed the R&R and agrees with the Magistrate Judge’s
analysis. Specifically, the Court agrees that Singer’s false arrest and false imprisonment claims are
not cognizable under § 1983 because the undisputed facts show that (1) a jury found Singer guilty
of the crimes he was charged with (see Doc. No. 64-1); (2) a judgment in Singer’s favor “would
necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction or sentence”; (3) and Singer has not demonstrated
that his “conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order,
declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or called into question
by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus. . . .” Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477,
486–87 (1994). The Court also agrees that Price is entitled to summary judgment on the § 1983

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excessive force claim because the undisputed facts demonstrate that the force used by Price to
effectuate Singer’s arrest was objectively reasonable under the circumstances. See Fox v. DeSoto,
489 F.3d 227, 236–37 (6th Cir. 2007).
Accordingly, the Magistrate Judge’s R&R (Doc. No. 66) is APPROVED AND
ADOPTED, and Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 60) is GRANTED.
This is a final order. The Clerk shall enter judgment in accordance with Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 58.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR.
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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