Margaret Lewis v. Abrams and Associates, et al.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN NORTHERN DIVISION MARGARET LEWIS, Plaintiff, Case No. 1:25-cv-12217 v. Honorable Thomas L. Ludington United States District Judge ABRAMS AND ASSOCIATES, et al., Honorable Patricia T. Morris Defendants. United States Magistrate Judge _________________________________________/ ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND DISMISSING CASE FOR FAILURE TO PROSECUTE On July 16, 2025, Plaintiff Margaret Lewis filed a pro se Complaint against Defendants Abrams and Associates and Mid America Bank and Trust Company, asserting that they violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692–1692p. ECF No. 1. On July 25, 2025, Plaintiff applied to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). ECF No. 5. The case was then referred to Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris for resolution of all pretrial matters. ECF No. 6.

On August 11, 2025, Judge Morris ordered Plaintiff to show cause on or before September 2, 2025, why her IFP Application should not be denied because it was “incomplete and d[id] not provide enough information for the Court to assess Plaintiff’s eligibility for IFP status.” ECF No. at PageID.16. Plaintiff did not do so. Thus, Judge Morris issued a report (R&R) recommending that this Court deny her IFP Application and “direct Plaintiff to pay the filing fee within fourteen (14) days.” ECF No. 8 at PageID.18. Receiving no objection and finding no clear error, this Court adopted the R&R and directed Plaintiff to pay the filing fee by December 5, 2025. ECF No. 9.

On January 12, 2026, Judge Morris issued an R&R recommending dismissing the case for failure to prosecute because Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee. ECF No. 10. Judge Morris gave the Parties 14 days to object to the R&R, id. at PageID.28–29, but they did not do so. Thus, they have forfeited their right to appeal Judge Morris’s findings. See Berkshire v. Dahl, 928 F.3d 520, 530–31 (6th Cir. 2019) (citing Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985)). There is no clear error in the R&R. So the R&R, ECF No. 10, will be adopted, and the Complaint, ECF No. 1, will be dismissed without prejudice.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris’s Report and Recommendation, ECF No. 10, is ADOPTED.

Further, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff Margaret Lewis’s Complaint, ECF No. 1, is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

This is a final order and closes this case.

Dated: February 9, 2026 s/Thomas L. Ludington THOMAS L. LUDINGTON United States District Judge