Fulkerson v. Internal Revenue Service

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF NEVADA * * *

HEATH VINCENT FULKERSON, Case No. 3:20-cv-00239-MMD-WGC Plaintiff, ORDER v.

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, et al.,

Defendants.

Pro se Plaintiff Heath Fulkerson filed a civil complaint (ECF No. 1-1) against Defendants but did not pay the $400.00 filing fee nor attach an application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). Before the Court is the Report and Recommendation (“R&R” or “Recommendation”) of United States Magistrate Judge William G. Cobb (ECF No. 4), recommending that Plaintiff’s complaint be dismissed with prejudice. Plaintiff had until October 21, 2020 to file an objection. To date, no objection to the R&R has been filed. For this reason, and as explained below, the Court adopts Judge Cobb’s R&R, and will dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice.

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)(1). Where a party fails to object to a magistrate judge’s recommendation, the Court is not required to conduct “any review at all . . . of any issue that is not the subject of an objection.” Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985); see also United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1116 (9th Cir. 2003) (“De novo review of the magistrate judges’ findings and recommendations is required if, but only if, one or both parties file objections to the findings and recommendations.”) (emphasis in original); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72, Advisory Committee Notes (1983) (providing that the Court “need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record in order to accept the recommendation.”).

Because there is no objection, the Court need not conduct de novo review, and is satisfied Judge Cobb did not clearly err. Here, Judge Cobb recommends Plaintiffs’ complaint be dismissed with prejudice as Plaintiff was cautioned that a failure to timely file his complete IFP application or pay the filing fee would result to his action being dismissed. (ECF No. 4 at 1.) The Court agrees with Judge Cobb. Having reviewed the R&R and the record in this case, the Court will adopt the R&R in full.

It is therefore ordered that Judge Cobb’s Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 4) is accepted and adopted in full.

It is further ordered that Plaintiff's complaint (ECF No. 1-1) is dismissed with prejudice.

The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment accordingly and to close this case. DATED THIS 29" Day of March 2021. ~~

MIRANBA M. DU

CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE