Maurice Fields v. Sgt. Vought

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MAURICE FIELDS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) Civil Action No. 3:23-255 v. ) Judge Nora Barry Fischer ) Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto SGT. VOUGHT, ) ) Defendant. ) ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 22nd day of January, 2026, upon consideration of the Report and Recommendation filed by United States Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto on August 19, 2025, (Docket No. 5), recommending that after screening Plaintiff Maurice Fields’ Complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), that the Complaint be dismissed, with prejudice, and without leave to amend, as any amendment would be futile, and Plaintiff’s Objections which were timely filed on September 11, 2025, (Docket No. 9), this matter having been reassigned to the undersigned for prompt disposition of the matter on January 20, 2026, and upon independent review of the record and de novo consideration of the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, (Docket No. 5), which is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Objections [9] are OVERRULED, for the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation. To that end, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he has stated a plausible § 1983 claim against Sergeant Vought because he (Plaintiff) has not asserted that Sergeant Vought was aware of any specific danger to Plaintiff at the time he was attacked by other inmates and therefore, cannot be said to be deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s safety sufficient to hold him liable for failure to protect pursuant to the Eighth Amendment. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 835-36 (1994). See e.g. Day v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 233 F. App’x. 132, 133 (3d Cir. 2007); Woloszyn v. Lawrence County, 396 F.3d 314, 321 (3d Cir. 2005).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint [4] is DISMISSED, with prejudice and leave to amend is denied, as futile; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mark this case CLOSED; and, FINALLY, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Rule 4(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Plaintiff has thirty (30) days to file a notice of appeal as provided by Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

s/ Nora Barry Fischer Nora Barry Fischer Senior U.S. District Judge cc/ecf: United States Magistrate Keith Pesto cc: Maurice Fields BS8522 SCI Fayette Overlook Drive LaBelle, PA 15450 (via first class mail)