Charles J. Evans v. Pamela J. Helton, Roxann E. Evans/Oliver, Gary J. Cooney, Circuit Judge Jason J. Nimeth, Fifth Lake County Court

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION CHARLES J. EVANS, Plaintiff, Case No. 5:25-cv-654-KCD-PRL v. PAMELA J. HELTON, ROXANN E. EVANS/OLIVER, GARY J. COONEY, CIRCUIT JUDGE JASON J. NIMETH, FIFTH LAKE COUNTY COURT, Defendants. / ORDER Before the Court is United States Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lammens’ Report and Recommendation (“R&R”). (Doc. 12.) Judge Lammens recommends dismissing the Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 11) without prejudice for lack of a viable claim. (Id.) Plaintiff did not object, and the time to do so passed. After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and recommendations, a district judge “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part,” a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(C). In the absence of specific objections, there is no requirement that a district judge review the report and recommendation de novo. See Garvey v. Vaughn, 993 F.2d 776 , 779 n.9 (11th Cir. 1993). Instead, when parties don’t object, a district court need only correct plain error as demanded by the interests of justice. See, e.g., Symonette v. V.A. Leasing Corp., 648 F. App’x 787, 790 (11th Cir. 2016); Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 150-52 (1985). Plain error exists if (1) “an error occurred”; (2) “the error was plain”; (8) “it affected substantial rights”; and (4) “not correcting the error would seriously affect the fairness of the judicial proceedings.” Farley v. Nationwide Mut. Ins., 197 F.3d 1322 , 1329 (11th Cir. 1999). After careful consideration and an independent review of the case, the Court finds no plain error. It accepts and adopts the R&R in full. Accordingly, it is now ORDERED: The Report and Recommendation (Doc. 12) is ACCEPTED and ADOPTED and the findings incorporated herein. (1) The Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 11) is DISMISSED without prejudice. (2) The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment accordingly, deny any pending motions as moot, terminate any deadlines, and close the case. ENTERED in Fort Myers, Florida on January 9, 2026. KyleC.Dudek United States District Judge