Burgess v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 25-80494-CIV-SMITH
THOMAS BURGESS,
Plaintiff,
v.
DEPUTY WILLIAM ROTHMAN,
Defendant.
/
ORDER AFFIRMING AND ADOPTING REPORT OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This matter is before the Court upon the Report and Recommendation (the “Report”) of
the Honorable, Bruce E. Reinhart U.S. Magistrate Judge, on Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint [DE
16] and Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [DE 23]. In his thorough and well-reasoned Report, Judge
Reinhart recommends that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss be granted with leave to amend.
Plaintiff filed objections to the Report, however, he agrees that a second amended complaint can
cure all defects.
A 	district 	court 	may 	accept, 	reject, 	or 	modify 	a 	magistrate 	judge’s 	report 	and
recommendation. 	28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 	Those portions of the report and recommendation to
which objections are made are accorded de novo review, if those objections “pinpoint the specific
findings that the party disagrees with.” United States v. Schultz, 565 F.3d 1353, 1360 (11th Cir.
2009); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3).
The Court, having considered Judge Reinhart’s Report, Petitioner’s objections thereto, and
having conducted a de novo review of the record, agrees with Judge Reinhart’s well-reasoned
analysis and his recommendation that the Amended Complaint be dismissed for failure to state a
claim. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that:
1) 	The Report and Recommendation [DE 41] is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED and
incorporated by reference into this Court’s Order.
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2) 	Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [DE 23] is GRANTED.
3) 	Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint [DE 16] is DISMISSED. Plaintiff may file a
second amended complaint as one final attempt to sufficiently plead his claims by December 19,
2025. Failure to file an amended complaint that complies with this Order and the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, including Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, shall result in the dismissal of this
case.1
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this 5th day of December, 2025.
cc: All counsel of record
1 It appears that Plaintiff has already filed a Second Amended Complaint, before the Court granted leave to amend
[DE 44]. The Court will accept Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint; however, this Court’s instruction that it must
meet the pleading standards under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure remains in effect.
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