Braun v. Vierzba
- Donovan Frank
- 0:26-cv-00401
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Braun v. Vierzba, Judge Frank adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation and dismissed without prejudice all claims filed by plaintiff Nathan C. Braun, while denying his request to proceed without paying court fees as moot.
Plaintiff Nathan C. Braun, whose lawsuit against Christopher Vierzba has been dismissed without prejudice, allowing potential refiling, and whose request to waive court filing fees was denied as moot.
What happened
In Braun v. Vierzba (Civil No. 26-401), plaintiff Nathan C. Braun filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against defendant Christopher Vierzba. Braun also asked the court for permission to proceed without prepaying court filing fees or costs.
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation on February 9, 2026, recommending that the entire complaint be dismissed and that the request to proceed without prepaying fees be denied as moot (meaning the fee request no longer needed to be decided once the case was dismissed). Braun did not file any objections to the magistrate judge's recommendations within the time allowed by court rules.
Because no objections were filed, Judge Donovan W. Frank reviewed the Report and Recommendation only for clear error, found none, and adopted it in full. Judge Frank dismissed Braun's claims without prejudice — meaning Braun is not permanently barred from refiling — and denied the fee waiver application as moot.
The detailed version
This case, Braun v. Vierzba, Civil No. 26-401 (DWF/ECW), was brought by plaintiff Nathan C. Braun against defendant Christopher Vierzba in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Along with his complaint, Braun filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis (i.e., to have his court filing fees waived on the basis of financial need).
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation (R&R) on February 9, 2026, recommending dismissal of the complaint in its entirety and denial of the fee waiver application as moot. The opinion does not reproduce the factual background from the R&R; it incorporates that background by reference only.
No objections to the R&R were filed within the time allowed under Local Rule 72.2(b)(1). Under 28 U.S.C. § 636 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b), when no objections are filed, a district judge need only review the R&R for clear error. Judge Frank applied that standard, found no clear error, and adopted the R&R.
By Order dated March 6, 2026, Judge Donovan W. Frank: (1) adopted Magistrate Judge Wright's R&R; (2) dismissed Braun's claims without prejudice (meaning Braun retains the ability to refile if permitted by applicable law and rules); and (3) denied Braun's fee waiver application as moot, since dismissal of the case eliminated any need to rule on that application. Judgment was directed to be entered accordingly.
Note: Because this order incorporates the R&R's factual findings by reference rather than restating them, the substantive basis for dismissal — including whether the dismissal was for failure to state a claim, lack of jurisdiction, or another reason — is not detailed in this order itself.
Reviewer note from the AI+
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.