Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company v. Robbins et al

Filing 17

ORDERED that within 14 days of the date this Order is served, Colonial shall show why this 1 Complaint filed by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company should not be dismissed without prejudice. Signed by Magistrate Judge G. R. Smith on 8/6/15. (wwp) Modified on 8/6/2015 (wwp).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
SAVANNAH DIVISION
COLONIAL LIFE & ACCIDENT
INSURANCE CO.,

)
)
)

Plaintiff,
V.

)

Case No. CV414-254

ROBERT L. ROBBINS; BROOKE
ROBBINS; ARON G. WEINER, as
Administrator of the Estate of Susan
E. Robbins; DAMIAN BEDNARCZYK;
and TARA BEDNARCZYK,
Defendants.

ORDER
Colonial Life & Accident Insurance filed this interpleader action on
November 21, 2014 to determine the proper recipient of life insurance
benefits. Colonial finally served all defendants late last year. See does. 5
& 6 (Tara Bednarcyzk served November 26, 2014 and December 2, 2014);
doe. 9 (Aron Weiner acknowledged service on December 9, 2014); doe. 10
(Brooke Robbins served December 9, 2014); doe. 12 (Damian Bednarcyzk
acknowledged service on December 29, 2014); doe. 15 (Robert Robbins
served December 30, 2014). To date, however, only Aron Weiner has
answered, although seemingly a few months late.

Compare doe. 16

(answer filed May 13, 2015), with doc. 9 (service acknowledged on
December 9, 2014).
Weiner's answer triggered a requirement that the parties confer
and file a report pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f). See Local Rule 26.1(a)
& (b) (requiring parties to confer no later than 45 days after the first
appearance of any defendant by answer or Rule 12(b) motion and to
submit a Rule 26(1) report within 14 days thereafter); doc. 2 (Court's
general order mandating compliance with L.R. 26.1). That report was
due July 12, 2015 but has not surfaced. Colonial therefore shall, within
14 days of the date this Order is served, show why this case should not be
dismissed without prejudice for abandonment and violation of both the
rules as well as this Court's General Order.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b);

Local Rule 41.1(c); Collins v. Lake Helen, L.P., 249 F. App'x 116, 120
(11th Cir. 2007) ("[D]istrict court[s] possesses the inherent power to
police [their] docket[s]" and to prune out those cases left to languish by
their litigants) (citing Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 629-30
(1962)); Mingo v. Sugar Cane Growers Co-op, 864 F.2d 101, 102 (11th
Cir. 1989).

2

SO ORDERED this 10 day of August, 2015.

UNITED kAfES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA