# Pew v. Wetzel

> District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania · October 28, 2020

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10409349

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** October 28, 2020
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10409349

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- explaining that judges should give some review to every report and recommendation

## Opinion text

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

ALFONSO PERCY PEW, No. 1:20-CV-00668

Plaintiff, (Judge Brann)

v. (Magistrate Judge Carlson)

JOHN WETZEL, et al.,

Defendant.

ORDER
OCTOBER 28, 2020
Plaintiff filed the instant action on April 22, 2020, and it was jointly
assigned to the undersigned and Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson. Upon
designation, a magistrate judge may “conduct hearings, including evidentiary
hearings, and . . . submit to a judge of the court proposed findings of fact and
recommendations.”1 Once filed, this report and recommendation is disseminated
to the parties in the case who then have the opportunity to file written objections.2
On September 3, 2020 Magistrate Judge Carlson, to whom this matter is
jointly assigned, issued a thorough report and recommendation, recommending that
Defendants’ motion to revoke Plaintiff’s leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc.
24) be granted in part, such that Plaintiff should be directed to file an amended
complaint setting forth only those claims which he alleges entail imminent danger

1 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B).
of serious bodily injury. Furthermore, Magistrate Judge Carlson recommends that
Plaintiff’s motions (Docs. 35 and 38) be denied without prejudice to renew once

Pew has properly filed an amended complaint including only the claims satisfying
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Plaintiff filed objections to the report and recommendation on September 17,

2020. When objections are timely filed, the District Court must conduct a de novo
review of those portions of the report to which objections are made.3 Although the
standard of review for objections is de novo, the extent of review lies within the
discretion of the District Court, and the Court may otherwise rely on the

recommendations of the magistrate judge to the extent that it deems proper.4 For
portions of the report and recommendation to which no objection is made, the
Court should, as a matter of good practice, “satisfy itself that there is no clear error
on the face of the record in order to accept the recommendation.”5 Regardless of

whether timely objections are made by a party, the District Court may accept, not
accept, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by
the magistrate judge.6

3 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Brown v. Astrue, 649 F.3d 193, 195 (3d Cir. 2011).
4 Rieder v. Apfel, 115 F.Supp.2d 496, 499 (M.D. Pa. 2000) (citing United States v. Raddatz, 447
U.S. 667, 676 (1980)).
5 Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), advisory committee notes; see also Univac Dental Co. v. Dentsply
Intern., Inc., 702 F.Supp.2d 465, 469 (M.D.Pa. 2010) (citing Henderson v. Carlson, 812 F.2d
874, 878 (3d Cir. 1987) (explaining that judges should give some review to every report and
recommendation)).
Because I write solely for the parties, I will not restate the facts, but will
instead adopt the recitation of facts as set forth by the magistrate judge. I have

conducted a de novo review here and found no error. “The imminent danger
exception [] creates a narrow opening for a particular type of claim; it does not
give prisoners like [Pew] a license to swamp the court with claims whenever they
successfully state a claim of imminent danger.”7

AND NOW, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Magistrate Judge Carlson’s September 3, 2020 Report and
Recommendation (Doc. 39) is ADOPTED in full.

2. The matter is remanded back to Magistrate Judge Carlson for further
proceedings.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Matthew W. Brann
Matthew W. Brann
United States District Judge

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10409349. Public record. Not legal advice.
