ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . This case turns on an antiquated statute that has remained unchanged while technology has evolved. See Glasser v. Hilton Grand Vacations Co. , 948 F.3d 1301, 1308 (11th Cir. 2020) ("What changed Technology and marketing strategies. But not the statute."). Plaintiff, on behalf of himself and a putative class, filed a Class Action Complaint, ECF No. 1, alleging Defendant violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. 227 et...
ORDER LANDYA B. McCAFFERTY , District Judge . Before the court is the federal defendants' motion for partial summary judgment and to dismiss (doc. no. 112), which was filed with a statement of undisputed facts (doc. no. 113). Plaintiff Kormahyah Karmue has responded with objections to the defendants' filings and his own statements of undisputed facts. See Doc. Nos. 115, 121, 124, 128. The federal defendants' motion seeks summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER JOHN J. MCCONNELL, JR. , Chief Judge United States District Court . Marasco & Nesselbush, LLP ("M&N") sues the Social Security Administration and employees Tara Collins and Carolyn Tedino, each in their official capacity (collectively, the "SSA"), alleging that the SSA has violated M&N's constitutional rights through its arbitrary and irrational conduct regarding the payment of attorney's fees in Social Security disability cases. M&N moves for summary judgment on...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , Chief District Judge . Elizabeth Sankey has sued UGTR, Inc. d/b/a Twin River and Twin River Management Group, Inc. ("Twin River") alleging claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution, defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of the events surrounding her arrest, while she was working at Twin River. Twin River now moves to dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b)(6). ECF No. 5. For the following reasons,...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . This matter is before the Court for judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ("Commissioner") denying Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") under the Social Security Act (the "Act"), 42 U.S.C. 405(g). Plaintiff filed his Complaint August 5, 2019 seeking to reverse the Decision of the Commissioner. On December 13, 2019, Plaintiff...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . Stemming from Brown University's ("Brown") dismissal of Jane Doe ("Jane"), this case is before the Court on Brown's Motion to Dismiss ("Mot. to Dismiss"), ECF No. 12. Brown moves to dismiss Jane's Complaint in full, a motion the Court DENIES for the following reasons. I. Background A cursory review of the relevant facts follows: In 2011, Jane started Brown's exclusive eight-year program in pursuit of both an undergraduate and...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER MARY S. McELROY , District Judge . This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment of the plaintiff/defendant-in-counterclaim, John Franklin Buerman, Sr. ("Buerman"), and the Objection of the defendants/plaintiffs-in-counterclaim, Anthony J. Witkowski ("Witkowski") and New Penn Motor Express LLC ("New Penn") (collectively "the defendants"). (ECF Nos. 24 & 28.) The issue is whether Witkowski and New Penn's amended Counterclaim, filed after...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Now pending before the Court is the motion of Defendant Casimiro Pereira for self-representation in connection with a motion to dismiss the criminal complaint that he filed pro se, despite having court-appointed counsel. ECF No. 13. The motion for self-representation was addressed by counsel for the parties at the bond hearing in this matter, which was held on March 4, 2020. A defendant has a right to be represented by...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Pursuant to 7 of the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. 7) ("FAA"), Maine Community Health Options ("Health Options") has petitioned for enforcement of an arbitration subpoena duces tecum issued to CVS Pharmacy, Inc. ("CVS"), in an American Arbitration Association arbitration ("Arbitration") of its dispute with Navitus Health Solutions, LLC ("Navitus"), a pharmacy benefits manager. ECF No. 1 ("Petition"). In the...
ORDER ON MOTION FOR SENTENCING REDUCTION UNDER SECTION 404 OF THE FIRST STEP ACT JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , Chief District Judge . Hector Lebron completed his original 2006 prison sentence, was released on supervised release, committed another crime that violated the conditions of supervised release, and is now serving a sentence for that violation. He asks this Court to reduce his original sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-391, 404, 132 Stat. 5194,...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . This matter is before the Court for judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ("Commissioner") denying Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") under the Social Security Act (the "Act"), 42 U.S.C. 405(g). Plaintiff filed his Complaint June 25, 2019 seeking to reverse the Decision of the Commissioner. On December 2, 2019, Plaintiff...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . This matter is before the Court for judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ("Commissioner") denying Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") under the Social Security Act (the "Act"), 42 U.S.C. 405(g). Plaintiff filed her Complaint May 31, 2019 seeking to reverse the Decision of the Commissioner. On November 4, 2019, Plaintiff filed...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Before the Court is the motion of Plaintiff Michael D. for reversal of the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner"), denying 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"). Plaintiff contends that the administrative law judge ("ALJ") erred (1) in rejecting the...
ORDER MARY S. McELROY , District Judge . On December 19, 2019, Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan issued a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") (ECF No. 41) recommending that the Court deny the Motion to Dismiss of the defendants, Whisper Yacht (USA), LLC, and Churchill Yacht Partners, LLC (ECF No. 20). After having carefully reviewed the relevant papers, and having heard no objections, the Court ACCEPTS the R&R and adopts the recommendations and reasoning set forth therein. Accordingly,...
ORDER MARY S. McELROY , District Judge . On November 4, 2019, Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan issued a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") (ECF No. 37) recommending that the Court deny the Motion to Dismiss of the defendants, Whisper Yacht Ltd. and S/Y Whisper in rem (ECF No. 18), and deny without prejudice the plaintiff, Robert B. Saltzman's, Cross-Motion for Sanctions (ECF No. 23). After having carefully reviewed the relevant papers, and having heard no objections, the Court...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . On September 30, 2019, this Court issued a text order granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 15, as to Count I and denying the motion as to Count II of the Amended Complaint, ECF No. 14. See September 30, 2019 Text Order. The Court VACATES that text order. For the reasons discussed in Watterson v. Trusted Media Brands, Inc. , C.A. No. 18-520 (D.R.I. Feb. 19, 2020), ECF No. 17, the Court now GRANTS Defendants' motion in...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . On September 30, 2019, this Court issued a text order granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 15, as to Count I and denying the motion as to Count II of the Amended Complaint, ECF No. 13. See September 30, 2019 Text Order. The Court VACATES that text order. For the reasons discussed in Watterson v. Trusted Media Brands, Inc. , C.A. No. 18-520 (D.R.I. Feb. 19, 2020), ECF No. 17, the Court now GRANTS Defendant's motion in...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff James R. Larkin is the 50% owner of two Rhode Island entities, a close corporation, Custom Built, Inc. ("CBI"), and a limited liability company, Custom Built Windows Manufacturing, LLC ("CBWM") (collectively, the "Companies"). In 2018 and 2019, he was fired from and frozen out of first CBWM and then CBI (a business he was principally responsible for building) by the owners of the other 50%,...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . Before the Court are Defendants' Motion to Dismiss For Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Failure to State a Claim ("Defs.' Mot. Dismiss"), ECF No. 8, and Defendants' Motion to Continue Hearing on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Or, In the Alternative, to Stay Proceedings ("Defs.' Mot. Stay"), ECF No. 14. On January 23, 2020, the Court held a hearing on both motions. For the reasons stated below, the Court DENIES both motions. I....
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Mary S. McElroy , United States District Judge . The Plaintiff is a prisoner in the custody of the State of Rhode Island, confined at the Adult Correctional Institutions, serving a sentence of imprisonment for twenty-four (24) years. In a Complaint filed initially in 2017, and amended after counsel was appointed for him, he alleged that he has been held in solitary confinement for more than eight (8) of the thirteen-and-one-half (13-1/2) years since his initial...
