Michelle Reyes v. Starbucks Corp. et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the action without prejudice because Plaintiff failed to respond to a Notice of Deficiencies and an Order to Show Cause, and failed to prosecute the case. The court applied the Ninth Circuit’s five-factor test for dismissal for failure to prosecute and concluded that dismissal was warranted under its inherent authority.

Holdings

1. The court dismissed the action without prejudice under its inherent power because Plaintiff failed to prosecute, failed to respond to the Notice of Deficiencies, and failed to respond to the Order to Show Cause.
2. Plaintiff failed to comply with the applicable requirements to serve the Complaint and Summons and file proof of service.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action should be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to respond to the court's Notice of Deficiencies and Order to Show Cause.
2. Whether the court's five-factor failure-to-prosecute analysis supported dismissal despite the public policy favoring resolution on the merits.

Disposition

dismissed