ABURTO v. CENTRAL STATE PRISON et al
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Ordered by US DISTRICT JUDGE TILMAN E SELF, III on 5/7/2018. (chc)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
VICTOR ABURTO,
Plaintiff,
v.
CENTRAL STATE PRISON, et al.,
CIVIL ACTION NO.
5:17-cv-00443-TES-CHW
Defendants.
ORDER DISMISSING WITHOUT PREJUDICE
______________________________________________________________________________
Pro se Plaintiff Victor Aburto, a prisoner most recently incarcerated at Central State
Prison in Macon, Georgia, filed two documents that were docketed as a complaint [Doc.
1] and supplemental complaint [Doc. 4] seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On
January 26, 2018, the United States Magistrate Judge ordered Plaintiff to (1) recast his
Complaint on the Court’s standard form and (2) pay the required filing fee or submit a
proper motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis if he wished to proceed with his
claims. [Doc. 5]. The Magistrate Judge gave Plaintiff twenty-one (21) days to comply and
warned Plaintiff that failure to fully and timely comply with the Court’s orders could
result in the dismissal of his Complaint. [Id.].
The time for compliance with the January 26, 2018 Order passed without a
response from Plaintiff. Accordingly, on March 22, 2018, the Magistrate Judge ordered
Plaintiff to respond and show cause why his lawsuit should not be dismissed for failure
to comply. [Doc. 6]. The Magistrate Judge again gave Plaintiff twenty-one (21) days to
respond and again warned Plaintiff that his failure to respond would result in the
dismissal of his Complaint. [Id.].
The time for compliance again passed without a response from Plaintiff. Because
Plaintiff failed to comply with the Court's instructions and orders and otherwise failed to
diligently prosecute his claims, the Court DISMISSES this action without prejudice. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 41; see also Brown v. Tallahassee Police Dep't, 205 F. App'x 802, 802 (11th Cir.
2006) (per curiam) (“The court may dismiss an action sua sponte under Rule 41(b) for
failure to prosecute or failure to obey a court order.”) (citing Lopez v. Aransas Cnty. Indep.
Sch. Dist., 570 F.2d 541, 544 (5th Cir. 1978)).
The basis for Plaintiff’s claims is somewhat unclear from his pleadings, and thus
it is difficult for the Court to tell whether the applicable statute of limitations would bar
any of Plaintiff’s claims. “[W]here a dismissal without prejudice has the effect of
precluding the plaintiff from re-filing his claim due to the running of the statute of
limitations, it is tantamount to a dismissal with prejudice.” Stephenson v. Doe, 554 F. App’x
835, 837 (11th Cir. 2014) (citing Justice v. United States, 6 F.3d 1474, 1482 n.15 (11th Cir.
1993)). If this dismissal is effectively with prejudice, dismissal is nonetheless appropriate
because “a clear record of delay or willful misconduct exists, and . . . lesser sanctions are
inadequate to correct such conduct.” Stephenson, 554 F. App’x at 837 (citations omitted).
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The Court ordered Plaintiff to comply with its orders and instructions on multiple
occasions and specifically warned Plaintiff each time that failure to comply would result
in dismissal of this action. Thus, even though this dismissal is intended to be without
prejudice, dismissal with prejudice would also be appropriate. See Hickman v. Hickman,
563 F. App’x 742, 744 (11th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (upholding sua sponte dismissal with
prejudice for failure to properly respond to the district court’s order); Eades v. Ala. Dep’t
of Human Res., 298 F. App’x 862, 864 (11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (upholding dismissal of
complaint where plaintiff “failed on multiple occasions to comply with the court-ordered
deadlines”).
SO ORDERED, this 7th day of May, 2018.
S/ Tilman E. Self, III
TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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