Goldhagen v. Ventrum Energy Corporation

Filing 32

ORDER Denying 31 Motion to Reopen Case. This case remains closed. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 3/9/17. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - ADR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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David Goldhagen,
2:14-cv-00672-JAD-GWF

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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Ventrum Energy Corp., et al.,

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Order Denying Motion to Reopen Case
[ECF No. 31]

Defendants

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David Goldhagen filed this case on May 1, 2014. After defaults had been entered against all

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defendants and nearly seven months of inactivity, I notified Goldhagen, who is represented by

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counsel, that, unless he took some action to move the case forward by December 14, 2015, this case

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would be dismissed for want or prosecution.1 Goldhagen took no action, so more than a month after

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that deadline expired, I dismissed this case without prejudice for want of prosecution under LR 41-1,

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which permits the court—with notice—to dismiss for want of prosecution any civil action that has

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been pending for more than 270 days without any activity.2 Nine months after my dismissal order

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and more than a year and a half after Goldhagen had taken any action in this case, he moved to

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reopen the case.3

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District courts have the inherent power to control their dockets and “[i]n the exercise of that

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power, they may impose sanctions including, where appropriate . . . dismissal” of a case.4 A court

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may dismiss an action based on a party’s failure to prosecute an action, failure to obey a court order,

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ECF No. 29.

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ECF No. 30.

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ECF No. 31.

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Thompson v. Hous. Auth. of City of Los Angeles, 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir. 1986).

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or failure to comply with local rules.5 In determining whether to dismiss an action on one of these

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grounds, the court must consider: (1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2)

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the 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 alternatives.6

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Goldhagen points out that I did not address these factors in my dismissal order, particularly the

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availability of less drastic alternatives, and he argues that m silence is reason to set aside my

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dismissal order. Though my previous order did not explicitly address these factors, I considered

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them when concluding that dismissal was a proper sanction, and I take this opportunity to expressly

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describe my analysis now.

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The first two factors, the public’s interest in expeditiously resolving this litigation and the

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court’s interest in managing its docket, weighed—and still weigh—in favor of dismissal. Goldhagen

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had taken no action in this case in nearly 300 days when I dismissed it, nor did he otherwise respond

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to my October 7, 2015, order. The third factor, risk of prejudice to defendants, also supported

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dismissal because a presumption of injury arises from the occurrence of unreasonable delay in filing

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a pleading ordered by the court or prosecuting an action.7 Though defaults had been entered against

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the defendants, they should not be forced to defend grossly untimely motions for default judgments

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or have litigation lingering without action for months. Indeed, defendants may have chosen not to

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appear or move to set aside the defaults against them based on Goldhagen’s failure to prosecute this

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case or move for default judgments.

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See Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53–54 (9th Cir. 1995) (dismissal for noncompliance with local
rule); Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260–61 (9th Cir. 1992) (dismissal for failure to comply
with an order requiring amendment of complaint); Carey v. King, 856 F.2d 1439, 1440–41 (9th Cir.
1988) (dismissal for failure to comply with local rule requiring pro se plaintiffs to keep court
apprised of address); Malone v. U.S. Postal Service, 833 F.2d 128, 130 (9th Cir. 1987) (dismissal for
failure to comply with court order); Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1424 (9th Cir. 1986)
(dismissal for lack of prosecution and failure to comply with local rules).
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Thompson, 782 F.2d at 831; Henderson, 779 F.2d at 1423–24; Malone, 833 F.2d at 130; Ferdik,
963 F.2d at 1260-61; Ghazali, 46 F.3d at 53.

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See Anderson v. Air West, 542 F.2d 522, 524 (9th Cir. 1976).
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Goldhagen contends that I did not consider the availability of less drastic sanctions. But a

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court’s warning to a party that its failure to obey the court’s order will result in dismissal satisfies the

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fifth factor’s “consideration of alternatives” requirement.8 My October 7, 2015, order expressly

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warned Goldhagen that if he did not move this case forward, it would be dismissed. I waited nearly

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a month after that deadline passed with Goldhagen’s continued inactivity to dismiss the case. The

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fact that Goldhagen waited nine months to move to reopen the case does not help his position. And

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the fourth factor—the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits—was and still is

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greatly outweighed by the factors favoring dismissal, particularly in light of Goldhagen’s

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unreasonable delay both in prosecuting this case and moving to reopen it. Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Goldhagen’s motion to reopen [ECF No. 31] is DENIED.
This case remains closed.

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Dated this March 9, 2017.

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_________________________________
________________ ____
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Jennifer A. Dorsey
Jennifer A. Dorsey
nn
y
United States District Judg
United States District Judge
ted t
tri t

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Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262; Malone, 833 F.2d at 132–33; Henderson, 779 F.2d at 1424.
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