Williams v. Allen

Filing 4

ORDER that this action is Dismissed without prejudice. The Clerk of Court is instructed to close this case. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 6/2/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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NATHAN WILLIAMS,

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2:17-cv-01119-JAD-VCF

Plaintiff

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Order

v.

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SGT. ALLEN et al.,

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Defendants

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This is a pro se civil rights action filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by a state prisoner. On

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April 25, 2017, I denied plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis without prejudice

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because the application was incomplete.1 I ordered plaintiff to file a fully complete application to

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proceed in forma pauperis or pay the full $400 filing fee within 30 days from the date of that

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order.2 The 30-day period has now expired, and plaintiff has not filed another application to

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proceed in forma pauperis, paid the full filing fee, or otherwise responded to the court’s order.

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

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that power, they may impose sanctions including, where appropriate . . . dismissal” of a case.3 A

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court may dismiss an action with prejudice based on a party’s failure to prosecute an action,

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failure to obey a court order, or failure to comply with local rules.4 In determining whether to

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1

ECF No. 3 at 1–2.

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Id. at 2.

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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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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, 144041 (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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dismiss an action for lack of prosecution, failure to obey a court order, or failure to comply with

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local rules, the court must consider several factors: (1) the public’s interest in expeditious

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resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the

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defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the

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availability of less drastic alternatives.5

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In the instant case, the first two factors—the public’s interest in expeditiously resolving

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this litigation and the court’s interest in managing the docket—weigh in favor of dismissal. The

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third factor, risk of prejudice to defendants, also weighs in favor of dismissal, since a

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

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ordered by the court or prosecuting an action.6 The fourth factor—the public policy favoring

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disposition of cases on their merits—is greatly outweighed by the factors that favor dismissal.

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Finally, a court’s warning to a party that his failure to obey the court’s order will result in

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dismissal satisfies the “consideration of alternatives” requirement.7 My order giving the plaintiff

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30 days to file another application or pay the full filing fee expressly stated: “IT IS FURTHER

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ORDERED that if [p]laintiff does not timely comply with this order, dismissal of this action may

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result.”8 Thus, plaintiff had adequate warning that dismissal would result from his

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noncompliance with the court’s order.

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED without prejudice based

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on plaintiff’s failure to file another application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the full filing

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...

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

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ECF No. 3 at 2.

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fee in compliance with the April 25, 2017, order. The Clerk of Court is instructed to CLOSE

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THIS CASE.

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DATED: June 2, 2017

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_______________________________
__________________
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Jennifer A. Dorsey
er A. Dorsey
o
United States District Judge
Judge
ud

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