Allen v. Muratore et al
Filing
11
DECISION AND ORDER dismissing the action with prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(b). Signed by Hon. Elizabeth A. Wolford on 7/26/2018. (Copy mailed to Plaintiff.) (LB)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WES T ~RN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
VALERIE LYNN ALLEN,
Plaintiff,
DECISION AND ORDER
6:16-CV-06539 EAW
V.
T. MORELAND, Correctional Officer, OHAR,
Correctional Officer, M. TAYLOR, Correctional
Officer, and KEPHART, Correctional Officer,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Valerie Lynn Allen ("Plaintiff') filed this action on August 4, 2016,
alleging that Defendants violated her constitutional rights. (Dkt. 1). On March 2, 2017,
the Court issued a Decision and Order that, among other things, granted Plaintiffs
motion for leave to proceed informa pauperis, and directed the United States Marshal to
serve copies of the summons and complaint upon Defendants if Plaintiff did not file an
amended complaint by April 14, 2017.
(Dkt. 5). Plaintiff did not file an amended
comp la int by April 14, 201 7.
The Court notes that the text appearing on the electronic docket at entry six
erroneously states that defendant Kephart was served with a summons.
(Dkt. 6).
However, a review of the proof of receipt and return documents reveals that the summons
was mailed out and then returned unexecuted. (Id. at 1-2). Indeed, no summons was
successfully served upon Defendants. (See id. at 1-4; Dkt. 7). Furthermore, aside from
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updates made by the Clerk's Office to Plaintiffs address based on the New York State
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's ("NYSDOCCS") on-line
inmate locator, there has been no additional docket activity since December 8, 2017.
On June 13 , 2018, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause directing Plaintiff to
set forth in writing by July 6, 2018, through a sworn affidavit her intention to continue to
pursue this action, as well as the reasons that the Court should not dismiss the case for
failure to prosecute. (Dkt. 8). The June 13th Order also informed Plaintiff that failure to
comply with the Order would result in the dismissal of her action. (Id. at 3).
Plaintiff did not submit the sworn affidavit required by the June 13th Order or
otherwise contact the Court.
"The demand that plaintiffs provide contact information is no esoteric rule of civil
procedure, but rather the obvious minimal requirement for pursuing a lawsuit." Dumpson
v. Goard, No. OO-CV-6039 CJS, 2004 WL 1638183 , at *3 (W.D.N.Y. July 22, 2004).
The failure to comply with this requirement is grounds for the dismissal of the action.
See, e.g. , Dong v. United States, No. 02 CIV. 7751 (SAS), 2004 WL 385117, at *3
(S.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2004) ("[T]he very fact that [the plaintiff] has been inaccessible for the
last two months-without notifying the Court, the Government, or the Pro Se Office of a
change of address- strongly suggests that he is not dil igently pursuing this claim.");
Ortiz v. United States , No. 01 CIV. 4665 (AKH), 2002 WL 1492115, at *2 (S .D.N.Y.
July 11 , 2002) (dismissing the complaint where the "[p ]laintiff has not even fulfilled his
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minimal obligation to keep the pro se office of this Court informed of his change of
address").
Here, the Court's mailing of the June 13th Order was initially returned as
undeliverable. (Dkt. 9). It was only after Plaintiffs address was updated by the Clerk's
Office to reflect Plaintiffs current residence at the Albion Correctional Facility that the
June 13th Order was delivered to Plaintiff. (Dkt. 10). A review of the NYSDOCCS
inmate on-line locator reveals that this is, indeed, Plaintiffs current address.
However, the Court's second attempt to reach Plaintiff was returned to the Court
as well, and carried a notation indicating that Plaintiff had refused receipt of the Order.
(Id.).
Accordingly, Plaintiff cannot avoid dismissal on this ground by claiming the
benefit of blissful ignorance "since [she] [her]self was responsible for the Court's
inability to notify [her]." Dumpson, 2004 WL 1638183, at *3 ; see Mathews v. US. Shoe
Corp., 176 F.R.D. 442,445 (W.D.N.Y. 1997) (noting that even though the plaintiff never
received a copy of the order that was mailed to her, the fault could "only be attributed
either to plaintiffs deliberate failure to claim the letter, or her failure to advise the court
of a change of address' '). Therefore, based upon Plaintiffs failure to maintain an updated
address with the Court and her refusal to accept receipt of the Court's June 13th Order,
the Court finds that dismissal is warranted. However, even absent consideration for the
Plaintiffs failure to keep her mailing address up-to-date, the Court would still find that
dismissal for failure to prosecute is an appropriate sanction.
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4l(b) authorizes a district court to dismiss an
action "[i]f the plaintiff fails to prosecute or to comply with [the] rules or a court
order .... " Fed. R. Civ. P. 4l(b). While Rule 41 "refers to dismissal upon motion of a
defendant, the Supreme Court has made clear that a court has the inherent authority to
dismiss an action sua sponte." Lopez v. Comm 'r of Soc. Sec. , 110 F. Supp. 3d 489, 491
(W.D.N.Y. 2015) (quotation omitted). "While a harsh remedy, the rule is 'intended to
serve as a rarely employed, but useful, tool of judicial administration available to district
courts in managing their specific cases and general caseload." Id. (quotation omitted).
Before dismissing a case under Rule 41 (b ), the district court must weigh five
factors:
(1) the duration of the plaintiffs failure to comply with the court order,
(2) whether plaintiff was on notice that failure to comply would result in
dismissal, (3) whether the defendants are likely to be prejudiced by further
delay in the proceedings, (4) a balancing of the court's interest in managing
its docket with the plaintiffs interest in receiving a fair chance to be heard,
and (5) whether the judge has adequately considered a sanction less drastic
than dismissal.
Baptiste v. Sommers, 768 F.3d 212, 216 (2d Cir. 2014) (quotation omitted). Generally,
no single factor in the analysis is dispositive. Id. The Second Circuit has "indicated that
a pro se litigant' s claim should be dismissed for failure to prosecute only when the
circumstances are sufficiently extreme." Id. (quotation omitted).
Weighing the five
factors listed above, the Court finds that dismissal for failure to prosecute is warranted.
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First, it has been twenty days since Plaintiffs response to the June 13th Order was
due. The significance of Plaintiffs failure to provide any response is compounded by the
fact that she has failed to submit any written communication to the Court since
September 6, 2016.
(See Dkt. 4).
Indeed, it appears that Plaintiff has affirmatively
refused to accept the delivery of the Court's June 13th Order, (Dkt. 10), which suggests
that Plaintiff has no intention of ever submitting a response. The Court also notes that
Plaintiff did not file an amended complaint by the deadline provided in the Court's March
2, 2017, Decision and Order. (Dkt. 5). Accordingly, Plaintiffs failure to timely respond
to the Court's Order to Show Cause is viewed in light of her pattern of dilatory conduct.
See Flores v. Massanari, No. OICIV0517LAKRLE, 2001 WL 1029402, at *1 (S.D.N.Y.
Sept. 5, 2001) (dismissing the action for failure to prosecute after a month had passed
since the plaintiffs response to the court's order was due).
Second, Plaintiff was on notice that her fai lure to comply with the June 13th Order
would result in dismissal. (Dkt. 8 at 3). The June 13th Order stated that Plaintiffs
failure to set forth in writing through a sworn affidavit her intention to continue to pursue
her action, as well as the reasons her case should not be dismissed, would result in the
dismissal of her case. (Id.). Despite this warning, the Court has not received any contact,
let alone a written response, from Plaintiff. See Dumpson, 2004 WL 1638183, at *2
("Pro se plaintiffs are entitled to a degree of leniency, but this 'should not extend to the
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disregard of a judge's plain directives."' (quoting Lucas v. Miles, 84 F.3d 532, 538 (2d
Cir. 1996))).
Third, Plaintiffs case has been unnecessarily delayed because of her failure to
take any action to proceed. Nothing indicates that Plaintiff intends to participate in her
case in the future , as it has been almost 15 months since the Court's issuance of its March
2, 2017, Decision and Order, granting Plaintiff leave to proceed informapauperis. (Dkt.
5). Plaintiff has since displayed no meaningful interest or engagement in prosecuting her
action. See Crawn v. Town of Wallkill, No. 07 Civ. I032(GA Y), 2013 WL 3227216, at
*2 (S.D.N.Y. June 26, 2013) ("[A] failure to dismiss would likely leave the case pending
for an indefinite time into the future, or at least until plaintiff changed his mind or the
court lost patience." (quotation and citation omitted)); see also Shannon v. Gen. Elec.
Co., 186 F .3d 186, 195 (2d Cir. 1999) ("Although the district court did not identify any
specific prejudice to the federal defendants resulting from [plaintiffs] failure to
prosecute, prejudice to defendants resulting from unreasonable delay may be presumed."
(quotation omitted)); Peart v. City of NY, 992 F.2d 458,462 (2d Cir. 1993) ("[P]rejudice
resulting from unreasonable delay may be presumed as a matter of law .... ").
Fourth, balancing the Court's own interest in managing its docket against
Plaintiffs interest in receiving an opportunity to be heard weighs in favor of dismissal.
Plaintiff has already received an opportunity to proceed on the merits, and the June 13th
Order gave Plaintiff an opportunity to continue to pursue her claims. Plaintiff did not
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avail herself of this opportunity. It ''is not an efficient use of the Court's ... resources to
permit this case to languish on the docket in the hope that plaintiff will reappear in the
future.'' Crawn, 2013 WL 3227216, at *2 (quotation omitted).
Fifth, while the Court has considered other sanctions, a sanction less extreme than
dismissal would not be effective under the circumstances of this case, where Plaintiff has
not complied with the Court's June 13th Order, and has failed to communicate with the
Court in over six months, notwithstanding the June 13th Order notifying her of certain
dismissal.
Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, this action is dismissed with prejudice
pursuant to Rule 41 (b ). The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case.
SO ORDERED.
Dated:
J
I
July 26, 2018
Rochester, New York
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