Schowachert v. Santoro

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California recommends dismissing this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The recommendation relies on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), Local Rule 110, and the Ninth Circuit’s Malone factors, and gives the plaintiff fourteen days to file objections.

Holdings

1. A plaintiff's failure to respond to a court order within the allotted time, failure to request an extension, and failure to take any of the alternatives provided by the court warranted dismissal without prejudice for failure to prosecute and supported dismissal as a sanction under Rule 41(b) and Local Rule 110.
2. The five Malone factors supported dismissal without prejudice because the case had stalled, consumed limited judicial resources, posed no meaningful prejudice to unserved defendants, and could not proceed further without Plaintiff's participation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action should be dismissed without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) and Local Rule 110 because Plaintiff failed to respond to the court's screening order.
2. Whether application of the Ninth Circuit's five Malone factors supported dismissal for failure to prosecute.

Disposition

other