Gil v. Brinker International, Inc.

Filing 15

ORDER of DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. on 4/7/2017. (ls)

United States District Court
for the
Southern District of Florida
Juan Carlos Gil, Plaintiff,
v.
Brinker International, Inc. dba
www.chilis.com, Defendant.

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Civil Action No. 16-24805-Civ-Scola
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Order of Dismissal
On February 21, 2017 the Court administratively closed this case in
response to the parties’ notice that they had settled the matter. The Court gave
the parties until March 21, 2017 to file their closing papers. To date, they have
failed to file the necessary closing papers but Plaintiff Juan Carlos Gil has
instead filed a “Notice of Filing Consent Judgment” (ECF No. 14). Gil has also
submitted a proposed “Order Approving Consent Judgment.” (Id.) Both
documents include a line left blank for the Court’s signature.
As an initial matter, a district court may dismiss a case, on its own
initiative, if a plaintiff abandons its prosecution of the suit. Compare Fed. R.
Civ. P. 41(b) with Link v. Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630-31 (1962). Courts
are vested with this inherent power “to manage their own affairs so as to
achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases” and “to clear their
calendars of cases that have remained dormant because of the inaction or
dilatoriness of the parties seeking relief.” Id. The Court finds that the parties
have abandoned their prosecution and defense of this matter. The Court
therefore dismisses this case with prejudice, and directs the Clerk of the Court
to close the matter. All pending motions, if any, are denied as moot.
Secondly, the Court declines Gil’s invitation to sign the judgment and the
order. This action was brought pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The ADA does not require Court approval or ratification of settlements between
litigants and the parties have not offered a reason why such approval or
ratification is necessary in this case. The Court will, however, reserve
jurisdiction to enforce the parties’ settlement agreement.
Done and ordered in chambers, at Miami, Florida, on April 7, 2017.
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Robert N. Scola, Jr.
United States District Judge