REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . Pending before me for a report and recommended disposition (28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B)) is the Petition of Third-Party Claimant David Vogel (the "Claimant") filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 853(n) and Rule 32.2(c), Fed. R. Crim. P. (Document No. 20). The Government has moved to dismiss the Petition pursuant to Rule 32.2(c)(1)(A), Fed. R. Crim. P. (Document No. 24). A hearing was held on December 19, 2016. For the following reasons,...
ORDER DENYING REQUESTS FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . The principals of tribal sovereignty and right to self-determination guide this Court. As a federal district court, this court is a court of limited jurisdiction, and it has a sua sponte duty to ensure the existence of jurisdiction. United States v. Univ. of Massachusetts, Worcester, 812 F.3d 35 , 44 (1st Cir. 2016). Now, "[t]ribal sovereign immunity `predates the birth of the Republic.'"...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . Tiffany Houle applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income, claiming disability as of May 1, 2013. Her claims were denied initially and on reconsideration. She appealed and requested a hearing. The Administrative Law Judge found that based on her residual function capacity ("RFC"), Ms. Houle was capable of successfully adjusting to other work and therefore was not disabled. Ms. Houle appeals to this Court...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . This matter is before the Court on the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss James Harris' 42 U.S.C. 1983 action. ECF No. 33. Mr. Harris, an inmate at the Adult Correctional Institution, alleges various due process, equal protection, and Eighth Amendment claims that arise from his conviction and punishment for narcotics trafficking into the ACI. This is not Mr. Harris' first civil action with regard to these matters. He filed suit against the same...
ORDER LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . After due consideration of the parties' arguments and review of the relevant portions of the Administrative Record, and for the reasons stated at the hearing held on December 14, 2016, Plaintiff's Motion to Reverse (Document No. 11) is DENIED; and Defendant's Motion to Affirm (Document No. 13) is GRANTED. The Clerk shall enter Final Judgment in favor of Defendant. SO ORDERED.
ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , Chief District Judge . This matter came before the Court on Defendant's Motion to Determine Competency pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 4241 and 4247. The United States does not object to this Motion. The Court finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Defendant may be presently suffering from mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff Lori Kandzerski filed disability applications seeking Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") under 205(g) and 1631(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(g), 1383(c)(3) (the "Act") based on her perception that her back pain and mental impairments prevent her from performing any work. Two expert physicians and two expert psychologists carefully reviewed over...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . The United States Government has charged Daniel E. Saad with arson of a building and committing wire fraud. (ECF No. 3). The Government has submitted a Motion in Limine (ECF No. 16) and a Notice of Intent to use certain evidence (ECF No. 17). Mr. Saad has filed two Motions in Limine (ECF Nos. 19 and 20) and a Motion for a Daubert hearing. (ECF No. 21). This Court will deal with each motion and its objections seriatim. 1. Government's...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . The instant matter is before the court under 42 U.S.C. 405(g), the Social Security Act, for judicial review of a "final decision" of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration denying disability insurance benefits for which Plaintiff Alicia A. Covill had applied. This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate for preliminary review, findings, and recommended disposition as to Ms. Covill's motion to reverse and Ms. Colvin'...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . Catherine Bishop objects (ECF No. 14) to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 13) recommending that his Motion to Reverse (ECF No. 9) be denied and the Commissioner's Motion to Affirm (ECF No. 10) be granted. After a complete review of the record, this Court adopts the Magistrate Judge's recommendation for the reasons stated therein. The ALJ fully complied with the statute and appropriate regulations in evaluating and...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . Robert West objects to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 13) recommending that his Motion to Reverse (ECF No. 9) be denied and the Commissioner's Motion to Affirm (ECF No. 10) be granted. After a complete review of the record, this Court adopts the Magistrate Judge's recommendation for the reasons stated therein. He correctly found that it is the ALJ who is responsible for weighing the evidence and resolving...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff Carlos Albert Pacheco Marques contends that he became fully disabled in September 2012, when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident, even though he stopped working over a year before because of a dispute with his supervisor. His disability application, based on spine/leg problems and depression/anxiety, complicated by substance abuse, was denied by an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). His claim is now before...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . Plaintiff Douglas Luckerman, an attorney who formerly represented Defendant Narragansett Indian Tribe ("Tribe"), brought suit against the Tribe for breach of contract. (Complaint, ECF No. 1.) This Court determined that the doctrine of tribal exhaustion applied to Plaintiff's claim and stayed that action pending consideration by the Tribal Court. (ECF No. 16.) Plaintiff has filed a Motion to Vacate, arguing that "[i]t has now become...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , Chief District Judge . Before this Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 11.) Plaintiff has filed a Response (ECF No. 17) and Defendants have filed a Reply (ECF No. 18). For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. I. Summary Judgment Standard Summary judgment is appropriate where "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is...
ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , Chief District Judge . Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan filed a Report and Recommendation (R&R) on October 18, 2016 (ECF No. 6), recommending that, pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 30511(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. Supplemental Rule F, the Court grant Petitioners' requests for an order restraining suits, an approval of Petitioners' proposed deposit of security with the Court, and a directive to issue a notice regarding the filing of claims (ECF Nos. 1, 1-1.) Having heard no...
INTERIM CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NUMBER 5 WILLIAM E. SMITH , Chief District Judge . On December 13, 2016, a Status Conference was held in the above-captioned matter. After hearing from the parties, the Court has determined that discovery should proceed while the motions to dismiss are pending. Consistent with the discussions at the December 13, 2016 Status Conference, the Court ORDERS the following: 1. Product Market and Downstream Sales Discovery. If Defendants choose to move to compel...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . On October 12, 2012, Plaintiff Pamela Hart applied for Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") under 405(g), 1631(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(g), 1383(c)(3) (the "Act"), alleging that, since January 1, 2006, she had been unable to work because of psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis, hip and spine pain, and anxiety and mood disorder. After she dropped her DIB...
ORDER AND MEMORANDUM MARY M. LISI , Senior District Judge . The plaintiff in this action, the Conservation Law Foundation ("CLF") 1 , on its own behalf and that of its individual members, brought a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ("CWA") against the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") by suing its Administrator, Regina McCarthy, and its Regional Administrator, H. Curtis Spalding (together with Regina McCarthy, the "Defendants"), in...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff Daniel Richard Levin was only twenty-five years old when he stopped working in June 2012 following an injury to his inner ear caused by "40 some odd rides on roller coasters" during a single day, June 5, 2012; the resulting vertigo was coupled with the symptoms of what ultimately was diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome ("POTS"), 1 as well as the mental impairments of anxiety, depression and...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, Jr. , District Judge . After receiving a successful jury verdict totaling $806,000 1 in this Title VII matter, Plaintiff Lori Franchina's attorneys filed a Motion to Award Attorney's Fees and Costs. ECF No. 102. They request a total of $233,643.50 in fees and $7,838.58 in costs. Defendant City of Providence objects to portions of the request and asks the Court award no more than $108,576 in attorney's fees and $4,207.98 in costs. ECF No. 109. As an initial matter,...
