Watkins v. Tuolumne County et al

Filing 10

FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS that this Case be Dismissed for Failure to State a Claim, Failure to Prosecute, and Failure to Comply with a Court Order signed by Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson on 10/29/2019. Referred to Judge Drozd; Objections to F&R due by 11/18/2019.(Flores, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Case No. 1:18-cv-00787-JDP

RAYMOND C. WATKINS,

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT CASE BE DISMISSED FOR FAILURE
TO STATE A CLAIM, FAILURE TO
PROSECUTE, AND FAILURE TO COMPLY
WITH A COURT ORDER

Plaintiff,
v.
TUOLUMNE COUNTY, et al.,

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OBJECTIONS DUE IN FOURTEEN DAYS

Defendants.

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO
ASSIGN CASE TO DISTRICT JUDGE

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action pursuant

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to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On April 2, 2019, I screened plaintiff’s complaint and found that he failed

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to state a claim. ECF No. 9. I ordered plaintiff to amend his complaint and warned that failure to

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comply with the order would result in dismissal of this action. See id. at 6. Plaintiff has not filed

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an amended complaint.

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The court may dismiss a case for plaintiff’s failure to prosecute or failure to comply with a

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court order. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); Hells Canyon Pres. Council v. U.S. Forest Serv., 403 F.3d

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683, 689 (9th Cir. 2005). Involuntary dismissal is a harsh penalty, but a court has a duty to

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resolve disputes expeditiously. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 1; Pagtalunan v. Galaza, 291 F.3d 639, 642

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(9th Cir. 2002).

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In considering whether to dismiss a case for failure to prosecute, a court ordinarily

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considers five factors: “(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the

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court’s need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy

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favoring disposition of cases on their merits and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions.”

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Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F.3d 1081, 1084 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Henderson v. Duncan, 779

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F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986)). The fourth factor weighs against dismissal. But dismissal

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would promote expeditious resolution, see Pagtalunan, 291 F.3d at 642, and would allow our

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overburdened court to manage its docket more effectively. Further delay increases the risk that

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memories will fade and evidence will be lost, and at this stage in the proceeding there is no

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satisfactory lesser sanction that would protect the court’s scarce resources. Therefore, I find that

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the first, second, third, and fifth factors weigh in favor of dismissal, and I recommend dismissal

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without prejudice on that basis.

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As more thoroughly discussed in my screening order, plaintiff has failed to state a claim

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against defendants, which provides an additional basis for dismissing this case. See ECF No. 9.

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Order

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The clerk of court is directed to assign this case to a district judge, who will preside over

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this case. The undersigned will remain as the magistrate judge assigned to the case.

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Recommendations

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I recommend that the case be dismissed for plaintiff’s failures to state a claim, prosecute,

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and comply with a court order. I submit these findings and recommendations to the U.S. district

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judge presiding over the case under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 304. Within

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fourteen days of the service of the findings and recommendations, the parties may file written

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objections to the findings and recommendations with the court and serve a copy on all parties.

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The document containing the objections must be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s

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Findings and Recommendations.” The presiding district judge will then review the findings and

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recommendations under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

October 29, 2019

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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No. 204

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