United States District Court, D. New Hampshire
ORDER
Joseph
N. Laplante United States District Judge.
After
due consideration of the objection (Doc. No. 83) filed by
plaintiff Josephine Amatucci, I herewith approve the Report
and Recommendation (Doc. No. 74) (“R&R”) of
Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone dated February 7, 2018,
with the following two exceptions:
1.
James O'Brien
Based
on filings before the magistrate judge at the time the
R&R issued, it appeared that Mrs. Amatucci did not want
this action to proceed against former Wolfeboro Police
Officer James O'Brien. In her objection (Doc. No. 83) to
the R&R, Mrs. Amatucci asserts that she now wants
O'Brien to remain as a defendant in this case.
Accordingly, the court declines to accept the magistrate
judge's recommendation to grant Mrs. Amatucci's
motion to amend (Doc. No. 60) and dismiss O'Brien from
this case. Mrs. Amatucci's motion to amend (Doc. No. 60)
is denied, and O'Brien remains a defendant in this
matter.
2.
Retaliatory Lien Claim
In the
R&R, the magistrate judge recommended that the court deny
Mrs. Amatucci's request to add a claim to this action
asserting that, on December 13, 2017, Attorney Mark Puffer
placed a lien on Mrs. Amatucci's property at the Carroll
County Registry of Deeds, in the amount of either $4, 460.89
or $4, 500.89, to satisfy a judgment for attorneys' fees
and costs entered against Mrs. Amatucci on August 12, 2015 in
a state court proceeding she had filed against Attorney
Timothy Morgan, Amatucci v. Morgan, No. 212-2015-CV-00052
(N.H. Super. Ct., Carroll Cty.). Mrs. Amatucci seeks to amend
her complaint to assert a claim here that the lien was placed
on her property in retaliation for her exercise of her First
Amendment right to redress her grievances by filing this and
other lawsuits, and lodging misconduct complaints against
officials of the Town of Wolfeboro and the Wolfeboro Police
Department.
The
court finds that Mrs. Amatucci has asserted sufficient facts
to proceed on a retaliation claim against Attorney Morgan and
Attorney Puffer. Accordingly, the court declines to accept
the magistrate judge's recommendation to deny Mrs.
Amatucci's request to add that claim to this action, and
that claim will be allowed to proceed.
3.
Service of O'Brien, Morgan, and Puffer
As
stated above, the court now allows Mrs. Amatucci to serve the
above-referenced claims against James O'Brien, Attorney
Timothy Morgan, and Attorney Mark Puffer in this case. Mrs.
Amatuci has not provided this court with a summons form for
any of those defendants. Accordingly, the clerk's office
is directed to forward three blank summons forms to Mrs.
Amatucci. Mrs. Amatucci is directed to complete summonses for
O'Brien, Morgan, and Puffer, and return the completed
summonses to the court within fourteen days of the date of
this Order.
Once
the completed summonses are received from Mrs. Amatucci, the
clerk's office is directed to issue the summonses for
defendants O'Brien, Morgan, and Puffer. The clerk's
office and United States Marshal for the District of New
Hampshire are directed to effect service in the manner set
forth in the court's November 17, 2017 Order (Doc. No.
26), except that the documents to be served upon defendants
pursuant to this Order are: Document Nos. 1, 2, 5-8, 11-56,
60, 61, 63, 64, 66-80, 82-85, 87, 89-92, and 94; and the
endorsed orders issued on June 16 and December 14, 2017,
January 4, 19, 22, and 25, 2018, and February 2 and 6, 2018;
this Order; and two other Orders issued this date.
O'Brien,
Morgan, and Puffer are instructed to answer or otherwise
plead within twenty-one days of service. See Fed.R.Civ.P.
12(a)(1)(A).
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the court now enters the following
Order:
1. The
Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 74) of Magistrate Judge
Andrea K. Johnstone, dated February 6, 2017, is approved,
except to the extent that it recommends that: 1) Mrs.
Amatucci's motion to amend the complaint (Doc. No. 60) be
granted and James O'Brien be dismissed from this action;
and 2) Mrs. Amatucci's request to add a First Amendment
retaliatiory lien claim against Attorney Timothy Morgan and
Attorney Mark Puffer be denied.
2. Mrs.
Amatucci's motion to amend (Doc. No. 60) is denied, and
James O'Brien ...