IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN 
CECIL FRANCIS, 
                   Plaintiff, 
v. 
DOCTOR MULLENS, 
                   Defendant. 
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)                 Case No. 3:23-cv-0039 
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ORDER 
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Report and Recommendation issued 
by Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller, filed on January 17, 2024, recommending that this matter 
be transferred to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. (ECF 
No. 3.) The Court conducted a de novo review of the record and has made an independent 
determination finding no error.1 Accordingly, it is hereby 
ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, ECF No. 3, is 
APPROVED and ADOPTED as an Order of this Court as if fully set forth herein; it is further 
 
ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall TRANSFER this case to the United States 
District Court for the Western District of Virginia; it is further  
 
ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be provided to Cecil Francis via certified 
mail with the return receipt docketed in this case; and it is further 
 
1 See Hill v. Barnacle, 655 Fed. Appx. 142, 148 (3d Cir. 2016) (opining that the district court is not required to 
make separate findings or conclusions when reviewing a Magistrate Judge’s report and recommendation de 
novo under 28 U.SC. § 636(b)) (citing Elmendorf Grafica, Inc. v. D.S. America, Inc., 48 F.3d 46, 49-50 (1st Cir. 
1995) (opining that “[28 U.S.C. § 636(b)] authorizes the district court to adopt in whole as well as in part the 
proposed findings and recommendations of the magistrate judge. Where, as here, the magistrate judge decided 
on an undisputed factual record, the district court was certainly not required to rehash the magistrate judge’s 
reasoning. The role of the magistrate judge is ‘to relieve courts of unnecessary work.’”) (citations omitted).  
Case: 3:23-cv-00039-RAM-GAT     Document #: 6     Filed: 04/13/26     Page 1 of 2
Francis. v. Mullens 
Case No. 3:23-cv-0039 
Order 
Page 2 of 2 
 
ORDERED that following transfer, the Clerk of Court shall CLOSE this case.  
Dated: April 13, 2026 
 
 
 
/s/ Robert A. Molloy  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
ROBERT A. MOLLOY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Judge 
Case: 3:23-cv-00039-RAM-GAT     Document #: 6     Filed: 04/13/26     Page 2 of 2