Howard v. FCA US, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California dismissed April Howard’s action against FCA US, LLC with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The court found that Howard failed to comply with orders concerning representation and failed to respond to an order to show cause, warranting dismissal for failure to follow a court order and failure to prosecute.

Holdings

1. Dismissal with prejudice was warranted because the five Ninth Circuit dismissal factors favored dismissal: plaintiff's inaction impeded expeditious resolution and docket management, prejudiced the defendant through unreasonable delay, provided little support for the merits-based disposition policy, and could not be remedied by less drastic alternatives after the court twice warned that noncompliance would result in dismissal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action should be dismissed with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for plaintiff's failure to comply with court orders and failure to prosecute.

Disposition

dismissed