Lattimore v. Cincinnati Premier Finance

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION
DUAN B. LATTIMORE, JR.,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CINCINNATI PREMIER FINANCE,
Defendant.
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Case No. 1:25-cv-00407
Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Before the Court are, pro se, Plaintiff Duan B. Lattimore’s (“Plaintiff”) objections to
the Report and Recommendation (Doc. 19) issued by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephanie K.
Bowman. Plaintiff initiated this action asserting state and federal claims against Cincinnati
Premier Finance (“Defendant”), stemming from the repossession of Plaintiff’s vehicle. On
September 9, 2025, Magistrate Judge Bowman issued a Report and Recommendation
proposing dismissal of this action with prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for
failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Doc. 19. Plaintiff filed purported
objections. Doc. 22.
Having considered de novo each aspect of the report to which Plaintiff has specifically
objected, 	the 	Court 	ADOPTS 	the 	Report 	and 	Recommendation 	in 	its 	entirety 	and
DISMISSES the action with PREJUDICE.
I. 	BACKGROUND
This case arises from a contract dispute. On December 6, 2024, Plaintiff purchased a
2018 Buick Envision (the “Vehicle”) from Defendant and signed a retail installment contract
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and security agreement. Doc. 1-10, PageID 26; Doc. 1-3, PageID 10.1 The agreement required
Plaintiff to make eighty-three bi-weekly payments to Defendant beginning on January 16,
2025. Id. 	Months later, after the Vehicle was repossessed, Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed a
Complaint (Doc. 1), which was followed by the filing of an Amended Complaint (Doc. 18),
and several motions contesting the lawfulness of the repossession. According to Plaintiff,
Defendant violated Ohio law, certain federal statutes, and lacked authority to repossess the
Vehicle since Defendant was not a properly licensed financial entity.2 Doc. 2, PageID 15;
Doc. 22, PageID 144. Defendant has not filed an answer.
After filing the Complaint, Plaintiff filed two companion or parallel state court actions,
each stemming from the same event: Defendant’s repossession of the Vehicle. On June 27,
2025, Plaintiff filed an action in the Hamilton County Municipal Court.3 Days later, on July
8, 2025, Plaintiff filed a similar lawsuit in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.4 On
September 9, 2025, the Magistrate Judge issued a decision in this case recommending
dismissal of the action with prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to
state a claim for relief. Doc. 19, PageID 128. The Magistrate Judge found that abstention was
appropriate due to the ongoing state court litigation and found Plaintiff’s claims to be
1 A copy of the agreement can be found in Lattimore v. Tri-State Auto Sales et al, No. 1:25-cv-00401.
2 Plaintiff asserts state law claims and federal claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending
Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in his
objection. Doc. 22, PageID 147.
3 Plaintiff withdrew this claim due to the ongoing proceedings in Common Pleas Court. Lattimore v. Cincinnati
Premier Finance, No. 25-cv-18965. See Granader v. Pub. Bank, 417 F.2d 75, 82–83 (6th Cir. 1969) (“Federal
courts may take judicial notice of proceedings in other courts of record.”).
4 This case appears to be ongoing. Defendants moved to dismiss the state-court complaint and filed a motion
for sanctions, and Plaintiff filed a motion in opposition. Lattimore v. Cincinnati Premier Finance, No. A2503331.
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frivolous and without any merit. Id. at 127. Plaintiff then filed purported objections.5 Doc. 22.
The matter is now ripe for consideration.
II. 	STANDARD OF REVIEW
If a party objects within the allotted time to a Report and Recommendation, the Court
“shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed
findings or recommendations to which objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); see
also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). Upon review, the Court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole
or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. §
636(b)(1)(C).
III. 	LAW & ANALYSIS
1. 	Waiver.
After de novo review of Plaintiff’s asserted “objections,” it is apparent that Plaintiff has
failed to properly state certain ones and has therefore waived any ability to challenge portions
of the Report and Recommendation. Importantly, the District Court’s review of the Report
and Recommendation is limited to “any portion to which a proper objection was made.”
Richards v. Colvin, No. 2:12-cv-748, 2013 WL 5487045, at *1 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 30, 2013)
(Emphasis added.). The mere acknowledgment of issues in the case, without addressing the
Magistrate Judge’s actual findings or proposed recommendations, leads to waiver. This
means that general or unspecific objections are treated the same as a failure to object. Slater v.
Potter, 28 F. App’x 512, 513 (6th Cir. 2002) (“The filing of vague, general, or conclusory
objections does not meet the requirement of specific objections and is tantamount to a
5 Plaintiff admits use of artificial intelligence in preparation of his objections. Doc. 22, PageID 148. The Court
notes that Plaintiff is subject to the requirements of Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure even as
a self-represented litigant, and failure to comply may result in sanctions.
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complete failure to object.”); see also Howard v. Sec’y of Health & Hum. Servs., 932 F.2d 505, 509
(6th Cir. 1991).
The Sixth Circuit’s opinion in Miller v. Currie is informative. Miller v. Currie, 50 F.3d
373, 380 (6th Cir. 1995). In that case, the Circuit found that the district court did not err after
adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendations to dismiss the case. Id. According to the
Circuit, the plaintiff failed to file specific objections to the magistrate judge’s report when the
objections were “summary in nature” and the plaintiff “failed specifically to address the
findings of the magistrate.” Id. (emphasis added) (“[Plaintiff’s] objections disputed the
correctness of the magistrate's recommendation but failed to specify the findings that
[plaintiff] believed were in error.”). Therefore, the plaintiff waived her objections.
Like Miller, Plaintiff in the instant proceeding failed to assert proper objections.
Without directly addressing the Magistrate Judge’s findings or proposed recommendations,
Plaintiff instead raises several points: his recent complaint filed with the Ohio Attorney
General; the alleged history of “consumer complaints” filed against Defendant; and Plaintiff’s
explanation for filing multiple claims against different entities in another case. Doc. 22,
PageID 147–48. All these statements and activities taken together, however, fail to respond,
or stated perhaps more poignantly, raise a “proper objection” to the Magistrate Judge’s
findings and proposed recommendations in this case. Plaintiff has therefore forfeited de novo
review by this Court of these purported objections. Miller, 50 F.3d at 380 (“The objections
must be clear enough to enable the district court to discern those issues that are dispositive
and contentious.”).
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2. 	Abstention.
Plaintiff, however, made one clear objection. In his view, abstention is improper. The
Magistrate Judge found that abstention was appropriate under the Supreme Court’s Younger
doctrine because 1) Plaintiff’s state judicial proceedings [are] ongoing; 2) the state proceedings
implicate 	important 	state 	interests; 	and 	3) 	the 	state 	proceedings 	afford 	an 	adequate
opportunity [for Plaintiff] to raise federal questions there. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37
(1971); Peebles v. Univ. of Dayton, 412 F. Supp. 2d 814, 816 (S.D. Ohio 2005).
As an initial matter, state judicial proceedings are ongoing in the Hamilton County
Common Pleas Court. In fact, Defendant appeared in that case, unlike this one, and recently
moved to dismiss the complaint. Doscher v. Menifee Cir. Ct., 75 F. App'x 996, 997 (6th Cir.
2003). (“[W]hen state proceedings are pending, principles of federalism dictate that the
constitutional claims should be raised and decided in state court without interference by the
federal courts.”); see Hicks v. Miranda, 422 U.S. 332, 349 (1975) (state court proceedings
warrant abstention if no substantial proceedings on the merits of the federal claims have
occurred and particularly when they arise after the filing of a federal complaint).
According to Plaintiff, the Amended Complaint filed in this Court turns on Ohio’s
licensing requirements, which may implicate important state enforcement interests. Doc. 22,
PageID 147. In support thereof, Plaintiff relies on an Ohio statute, Ohio Rev. Code §§
1321.51-1321.52, to support his objections. Id. According to the Magistrate Judge, Plaintiff’s
assertions were ambiguous and “Plaintiff provide[d] no legal authority to support his
allegation that [the] defendant [was] required to possess a valid lending license.” Doc. 19,
PageID 128. The Court agrees. It is not apparent whether the licensing requirements, as
asserted by Plaintiff, are actually mandated under the statute or Ohio law generally. As a
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result, abstention will allow the state courts in Ohio where Plaintiff’s parallel actions are still
pending to have first crack at applying an Ohio statute which they will likely have greater
familiarity with than this Court.
Finally, nothing prevents Plaintiff from asserting his federal law claims in state court.
He disputes the correctness of such finding because “state courts cannot fully enforce” federal
statutes. Doc. 22, PageID 148. Plaintiff’s views on the subject are mistaken, however. State
courts must enforce federal law under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. Howlett v. Rose,
496 U.S. 356, 367 (1990) (“Federal law is enforceable in state courts not because Congress
has determined that federal courts would otherwise be burdened or that state courts might
provide a more convenient forum . . . but because the Constitution and laws passed pursuant
to it are as much laws in the States as laws passed by the state legislature. The Supremacy
Clause makes those laws ‘the supreme Law of the Land.’”).
Thus, Plaintiff’s argument that Ohio courts cannot “fully enforce” his federal claims
are not well taken. If one of the Ohio courts (where Plaintiff’s companion lawsuits are
currently pending) decides to exercise jurisdiction, that court will be fully competent to
adjudicate all of Plaintiff’s claims, including those seeking to enforce the federal law
mandated under our Constitution. Make no mistake, however, Plaintiff’s ability to have his
federal claims heard in state court will not necessarily assure him of victory. But at the very
least Plaintiff will have his day in court where all his claims, state and federal, may be
presented in one forum with competent jurisdiction to adjudicate them. In light of the
foregoing, 	the 	Magistrate 	Judge 	found—and 	this 	Court 	agrees—that 	abstention 	is
appropriate.
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IV. 	CONCLUSION
Having carefully reviewed the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge and
considered de novo all filings in this case, with particular attention to the issues as to which
Plaintiff 	lodged 	specific 	objections, 	the 	Court 	determines 	that 	the 	Report 	and
Recommendation should be adopted in its entirety. As a result, motions that Plaintiff filed
currently pending before this Court are MOOT. Docs. 2, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 23 and this
action are hereby DISMISSED with PREJUDICE. For the reasons stated in the Report and
Recommendation and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the Court certifies that an appeal
of this Order would lack an arguable basis in law or in fact and thus would not be taken in
good faith. The Court accordingly DENIES Plaintiff leave to appeal in forma pauperis. In
accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(5), Plaintiff remains free to file a motion for leave to
proceed on appeal in forma pauperis in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Callihan v. Schneider,
178 F.3d 800, 803 (6th Cir. 1999).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
January 21, 2026
Jeffery P. Hopkins
United States District Judge
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