Schorr v. Roberson
Schorr v. Roberson
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Matthew P. Schorr, proceeding pro se , was convicted of federal child-pornography charges in 2011. Based on his conviction, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), a component of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), debarred him from participating in federal contracts and other federal programs. Schorr filed this lawsuit challenging his debarment against DHS, ICE, and various public officials. He brings two claims under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"),
Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss and/or for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 17), and Schorr filed a Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 20) in response. The Court referred the matter to Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, who issued a Report and Recommendation to grant Defendants' motion, deny Schorr's motion, and dismiss the case. ECF No. 29 ("R&R").
Schorr filed objections to Magistrate Judge Harvey's Report and Recommendation. ECF No. 33 ("Pl.'s Obj."). His objections are that Magistrate Judge Harvey (1) misapprehended Schorr's factual allegations,
First, Schorr complains, Magistrate Judge Harvey failed to appreciate the supposedly extraordinary nature of his allegations. He argues that Magistrate Judge Harvey incorrectly assumed that "Defendants were[,] in fact, diligent bureaucrats," when in reality "ICE Suspension and Debarment personnel have created a debarment mill that cranks out useless and illegal debarments whose only purpose is to perpetuate the continued existence of their jobs." Pl.'s Obj. at 2. In support of this argument, Schorr cites the following allegations: that (1) "Defendants failed to check their CorrLinks account for [Schorr's] Response before they debarred [him],"
Schorr also claims that Magistrate Judge Harvey failed to take into account certain documents attached to his motion for partial summary judgment. See Pl.'s Obj. at 15-18. But Schorr is incorrect. While the attachments are not separately listed on the docket sheet, they are in fact included in the Court's electronic files. See ECF No. 20 ("Pl.'s Mot."). Magistrate Judge Harvey expressly listed the motion for partial summary judgment (which is docketed together with its attachments) among the documents he considered. See R&R at 2 n.1.
Next, Schorr objects to Magistrate Judge Harvey's recommendation that the Court dismiss his APA claims for both lack of standing and mootness. Pl.'s Obj. at 5-15. The Court finds it unnecessary to determine whether Magistrate Judge Harvey was correct that Schorr lacks standing, because the Court agrees with Magistrate Judge Harvey that Schorr's APA claims-assuming Schorr had standing to bring them in the first place-became moot when ICE terminated his debarment shortly after the case was filed. "The fundamental concept of mootness is quite straightforward. As applied in the context of injunctive litigation, if there remains no conduct to be enjoined, then normally there is no relief that need be granted, the case or controversy has ceased, and the jurisdiction of the court has expired under Article III." True the Vote, Inc. v. IRS ,
Applying these principles, courts have concluded that challenges to debarments become moot after the underlying debarments have expired, unless the plaintiff can make a particularized showing of lasting harm. For example, in O'Gilvie v. Corporation for National Community Service ,
Here, Schorr's debarment ended shortly after this case began, and he has offered nothing to suggest that he will suffer further harm absent judicial intervention. He asserts that the Court should order the government to expunge the records showing that he was temporarily debarred. Pl.'s Obj. at 9.
Schorr also objects to Magistrate Judge Harvey's conclusion that the voluntary-cessation exception to mootness does not apply. See Pl.'s Obj. at 11-14. Magistrate Judge Harvey reasoned that, as a threshold matter, the exception is unavailable unless the defendant ceased the objectionable conduct in response to litigation, and here ICE terminated the debarment before any Defendant had been served. See R&R at 15. While Magistrate Judge Harvey was correct that Schorr did not properly effect service of process until after ICE terminated the debarment on September 3, 2015, see ECF No. 3, at least one Defendant may have had actual notice of the complaint a few days earlier on August 31, 2015, see ECF No. 4. The Court need not and does not adopt Magistrate Judge Harvey's conclusion that *230Schorr failed to meet this threshold requirement, because his opinion offers other, independent grounds to reject Schorr's voluntary-cessation argument.
"Voluntary cessation will only moot a case if there is no reasonable expectation ... that the alleged violation will recur and interim relief or events have completely and irrevocably eradicated the effects of the alleged violation." Cierco v. Mnuchin ,
Finally, Schorr objects that his Bivens claim was improperly dismissed because he has alleged "egregious government misconduct"-namely, that "Defendants were running a debarment mill for their own benefit rather than in furtherance of any legitimate governmental purpose." Pl.'s Obj. at 18.
For the above reasons, the Court adopts Magistrate Judge Harvey's Report and Recommendation, except for its conclusion on standing and as otherwise noted above, overrules Schorr's objections, and will dismiss the case in a separate order.
Magistrate Judge Harvey also recommended dismissing Schorr's APA claims on the ground of sovereign immunity to the extent they seek money damages. R&R at 12-13. Schorr effectively concedes that point in his objections, but insists that he is entitled to equitable relief. Pl.'s Obj. at 8-9.
CorrLinks is an email system used by prison inmates. See Compl. ¶ 37(b).
The Court notes that Schorr does not appear to have requested expungement in his complaint. See Compl. at 13-14. Nonetheless, Schorr did mention expungement in his cross-motion and opposition to the government's motion to dismiss. See Pl.'s Mot. at 25. Courts ordinarily consider all filings made by a pro se plaintiff like Schorr, not merely the complaint, when deciding a motion to dismiss. See Washington v. AlliedBarton Sec. Servs., LLC ,
Once again, this allegation appears to be absent from Schorr's complaint. See Compl. at 12. Nonetheless, Schorr did make a related claim in his opposition and cross-motion. See Pl.'s Mot. at 20-21.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Matthew P. SCHORR v. Denise E. ROBERSON
- Status
- Published