Forester v. Great White Pressure Control LLC

Filing 35

ORDER re 31 Order to Show Cause. The Court sua sponte dismisses Plaintiffs claims without prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b)as more fully set out. Signed by Honorable David L. Russell on 3/27/17. (jw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
MARK FORESTER,
Plaintiff,
v.
QES PRESSURE
CONTROL, LLC,
Defendant.

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Case No. CIV-16-967-R

ORDER
Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b), a court may dismiss an action “[f]or failure of the
plaintiff to prosecute or to comply with [the Federal Rules] or any order of court . . . .”
Though “the plain language of Rule 41(b) suggests that such dismissals may only result
from a defendants’s motion . . . courts may dismiss under Rule 41(b) sua sponte, at least
under certain circumstances.” Hells Canyon Preservation Counsel v. U.S. Forest Service,
403 F.3d 683, 689 (9th Cir. 2005) (citing, e.g., Olsen v. Mapes, 333 F.3d 1199, 1204 n.3
(10th Cir. 2003)) (“[T]he Rule has long been interpreted to permit courts to dismiss actions
sua sponte for a plaintiff’s failure to prosecute or comply with the rules of civil procedure
or court[] orders.”); also see Komaromy v. City of Cleveland, 232 F.R.D. 590, 592–93
(N.D. Oh. Jan. 3, 2006) (dismissing case sua sponte for plaintiff’s failure to respond to
discovery requests and violation of court’s order). The Court previously ordered Plaintiff
to obtain new counsel or enter his appearance within 30 days. [Doc. 31]. Plaintiff took no
action. The Court then instructed Plaintiff to show why his case should not be dismissed
without prejudice for failure to prosecute. [Doc. 24]. Again, Plaintiff did not respond. In
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light of this, along with Plaintiff’s failure to produce discoverable information for
Defendant and Defendant’s resulting inability to comply with the Court’s scheduling
deadlines, the Court sua sponte dismisses Plaintiff’s claims without prejudice pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED this 27th day of March 2017.

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