Williams v. The GEO Group, Inc.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 23-cv-81157-Damian/McCabe

ESSIE MAE WILLIAMS, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Cedric Levon Williams,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE GEO GROUP, INC.,

Defendant. ___________________________________/

REPORT & RECOMMENDATION

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Sanctions Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, and the Court’s Inherent Powers (“Motion”), which was referred to the undersigned by United States District Judge Melissa Damian. (DE 91, DE 93). The Motion argues that sanctions are warranted on the grounds that Plaintiff’s claims were frivolous from the inception, and/or the records provided in discovery demonstrate that Plaintiff’s claims were known to be frivolous prior to filing the second amended complaint. (DE 91). Because the pleadings form the basis for the Motion, the Court finds the Motion to be premature as no one has prevailed in this matter. See Almeida v. Bennet Auto Supply, Inc., 335 F.R.D. 463, 466 (S.D. Fla. 2020) (“Defendants’ motion must be denied because it is premature at this stage of the litigation…. If Defendant prevails and seeks to pursue the motion for sanctions, the Court would at that point have to take a hard look at the record to determine if the case was in fact sanctionable.”); Ideal Image Dev. Corp. v. Idealaser Hair Removal Corp., No. 18-20927- CIV, 2019 WL 12267190, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 24, 2019), R. & R. adopted, 2019 WL 12267187 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2019) (noting that “Rule 11 sanctions are ordinarily not determined until the end of litigation”). Defendant may renew its arguments at the conclusion of the case should Defendant ultimately prevail. RECOMMENDATION & NOTICE OF RIGHT TO OBJECT For the reasons stated above, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the Motion (DE 91) be DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The parties shall have fourteen (14) days from the date of being served with a copy of this Report and Recommendation within which to file written objections, if any, with United States District Judge Melissa Damian. Failure to file objections timely shall bar the parties from a de novo determination by the District Judge of an issue covered in the Report and Recommendation and shall bar the parties from attacking on appeal unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions contained in this Report and Recommendation. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); 11th Cir. R. 3-1. IF A PARTY DOES NOT INTEND TO OBJECT TO THIS REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION, THE PARTY SHALL FILE A NOTICE TO THAT EFFECT WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED in Chambers at West Palm Beach in the Southern District of Florida, this 9th day of September 2024. tot f 4 □□ > 1 fo WC RYON M. MCCABE U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE