Reported / Citable
Background
Pro se plaintiffs Michael Austin French and Dawn Michelle French brought a tax-refund action under 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a)(1) and 26 U.S.C. § 7422(a).
The case was referred to Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell. On June 17, 2026, she recommended granting the United States’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing the action with prejudice. The plaintiffs filed objections.
The Court’s Holding
District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle conducted de novo review of the objected-to portions of the report and recommendation, and reviewed any unobjected portions under the applicable clear-error, abuse-of-discretion, and contrary-to-law standards.
The court held that the magistrate judge’s report was correct and that the plaintiffs’ objections lacked merit. It adopted the report as the district court’s opinion, granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice.
Key Takeaways
- The court granted summary judgment for the defendant in the plaintiffs’ tax-refund lawsuit.
- The plaintiffs’ objections to the magistrate judge’s recommendation were overruled.
- The dismissal with prejudice ends the claims in this action.
Why It Matters
The order confirms that, after de novo review of timely objections, a district court may adopt a magistrate judge’s recommendation and enter final judgment for the government in a tax-refund case. The ruling is procedural and does not state the underlying substantive basis for summary judgment beyond adopting the magistrate judge’s report.