Jordan Buckey and William Trevor v. Henry’s Uptown Bar

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied Henry’s Uptown Bar’s motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute. The court found a clear record of delay by plaintiffs’ counsel but concluded that dismissal was not warranted because lesser sanctions had not previously been imposed and there was no showing of prejudice, intentional conduct, or delay attributable to the plaintiffs themselves. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f), the court sanctioned plaintiffs’ counsel $5,000 plus attorney’s fees for failing to comply with the scheduling order.

Holdings

1. Dismissal with prejudice was not warranted because, although the record showed delay and unjustified failures by plaintiffs’ counsel, the court had not previously employed lesser sanctions and the record did not show plaintiff-caused delay, actual prejudice to defendant, or intentional conduct.
2. Plaintiffs’ counsel was properly sanctioned $5,000 plus attorney’s fees for failing to comply with the court’s scheduling order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiffs’ failure to comply with the scheduling order warranted dismissal with prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
2. Whether the court should impose a lesser sanction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f) for plaintiffs’ counsel’s failure to comply with the scheduling order.

Disposition

other