McFarland v. State of Oregon

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON EUGENE DIVISION

KEVIN MARK MCFARLAND, Case No. 6:19-cv-01066-MK ORDER Plaintiff, v. STATE OF OREGON; COUNTY OF LANE; LANE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT; The Honorable DEBRA VOGT; The Honorable CURTIS CONOVER; LANE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY; LANE COUNTY SHERIFF, Defendants, _______________________________________ AIKEN, District Judge.

Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai has filed his Findings and Recommendations (“F&R”) (Doc. 47) recommending that defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (Docs. 35-36) should be denied. This matter is now before me. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b).

No objections were timely filed. Although this relieves me of my obligation to perform a de novo review, I retain the obligation to “make an informed, final decision.”

Britt v. Simi Valley Unified Sch. Dist., 708 F.2d 452, 454 (9th Cir. 1983), overruled on other grounds, United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121–22 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). The Magistrates Act does not specify a standard of review in cases where no objections are filed. Ray v. Astrue, 2012 WL 1598239, *1 (D. Or. May 7, 2012). Following the recommendation of the Rules Advisory Committee, the Court review the F&R for “clear error on the face of the record[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 72 advisory committee’s note (1983) (citing Campbell v. United States District Court, 501 F.2d 196, 206 (9th Cir. 1974)); see also United States v. Vonn, 535 U.S. 55, 64 n.6 (2002) (stating that, “[i]n the absence of a clear legislative mandate, the Advisory Committee Notes provide a reliable source of insight into the meaning of” a federal rule).

The Court finds no clear error in Magistrate Judge Kasubhai’s F&R. Accordingly, the Court adopts the F&R (Doc. 47) in its entirety. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 35) is DENIED. Defendant’s second Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 36) is also DENIED, but defendants are granted to leave to refile upon failure of service within 30 days of this order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated this _8_t_h_ day of September 2020.

___________/_s_/A__n_n_ _A_i_k_e_n___________ Ann Aiken United States District Judge