Johnson v. Palmetto Utilities, Inc, 3:25-cv-06164

Plaintiff Miyuki Maureen Johnson, as Trustee for MMJ Enterprise Foreign Express Trust, filed a pro se lawsuit against Palmetto Utilities, Inc., alleging improper service termination and rights violations.
The complaint was initially screened by a Magistrate Judge after being filed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
The Magistrate Judge recommended summary dismissal based on claims deemed frivolous and the improper attempt to proceed on behalf of a trust without counsel.
Plaintiff filed objections to the Report but did not provide specific, supported arguments addressing the deficiencies identified by the Magistrate Judge.
The District Court reviewed the objections and the Report, finding no legal or factual error in the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of complaint under §1915	Acts taken as trustee under trust law, secured party basis	Complaint frivolous, not legally supported	Complaint is frivolous and insufficient under §1915
Trust’s right to proceed pro se	Trustee can act for trust without counsel	Trust must be represented by attorney	Trusts cannot be represented pro se; must have counsel
Validity/enforceability of UCC lien	Lien valid, recognized under UCC; not rebutted by defendant	Lien and underlying theories are baseless	Plaintiff’s sovereign citizen/UCC claims are frivolous
Due process and property interests by service cut	Service termination violated property/due process rights	No basis for due process claim presented	No cognizable claim for due process/property violation

Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261 (Supreme Court clarified the district court's role in reviewing Magistrate Judge recommendations)
Camby v. Davis, 718 F.2d 198 (4th Cir. 1983) (district court not required to explain adopting magistrate recommendation when no specific objection is made)
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89 (2007) (pro se filings must be liberally construed)