Scott v. Rodriquez et al

Filing 50

ORDER DISMISSING CASE signed by Judge Pamela Pepper on 9/13/2018. Case DISMISSED without prejudice under FRCP 41(b) and Civil L.R. 41(c) (E.D. Wis.) for failure to prosecute. (cc: all counsel, via mail to Demetric Scott)(cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
______________________________________________________________________________
DEMETRIC SCOTT,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 17-cv-140-pp

MEGAN RODRIGUEZ, et al.,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER DISMISSING CASE
______________________________________________________________________________
On June 22, 2018, the defendants timely filed a motion for summary
judgment. Dkt. No. 37. The court’s original scheduling order required the
plaintiff to oppose that motion (if he chose to do so) “within 30 days of service
of the motion.” Dkt. No. 25 at 1. That means that if the plaintiff didn’t agree
with the defendants’ motion, he should have filed a response by July 22, 2018.
The court did not receive a response from the plaintiff by that date, so on
August 7, 2018, the court issued an order instructing the plaintiff to either
respond to the summary judgment motion or file a written explanation telling
the court why he couldn’t do so. Docket No. 49. The court warned the plaintiff
that if it did not receive either of these documents by the end of the day on
Friday, September 7, 2018, the court would dismiss the case without further
notice or hearing based on the plaintiff’s failure to diligently prosecute the case.
Id. at 2-3. As of today, the court has not received a response from the plaintiff;
it has not heard anything from the plaintiff since May 29, 2018, when it
received his notice of change of address. Dkt. No. 36.
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When he filed his complaint in January of 2017, the plaintiff indicated
that he was at Waupun Correctional Institution. Dkt. No. 1 at 1. The Wisconsin
Department of Corrections’ Inmate Locator Service verifies that.
https://appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/detail.do. On May 29, 2018, the court received a
letter from the plaintiff (dated May 24, 2018), indicating that his new address
was 3926 North 23rd Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53206. Dkt. No. 36. (The
inmate locator showed that he had been released from the Milwaukee Secure
Detention Facility on April 10, 2018.) The defendants filed their motion for
summary judgment on June 22, 2018—twenty-nine days after the plaintiff
notified the court of his address change, dkt. no. 37; the certificate of service
indicates that the defendants mailed the motion and supporting information to
the plaintiff at the North 23rd Street address, dkt. no. 37-1. When the court
issued its order on August 7, 2018, it checked the inmate locator service, and
discovered that the plaintiff had been admitted to the Milwaukee Secure
Detention Facility on July 5, 2018. Accordingly, the court sent the order to the
plaintiff at the MSDF; it has not been returned to the court as undeliverable,
and the inmate locator service shows that the plaintiff remained at MSDF until
August 23, 2018. The plaintiff has not notified the court of his release, and the
court has no indication that the plaintiff did not receive the summary judgment
documents or the court’s August 7, 2018 order.
Because the plaintiff has not responded to the motion for summary
judgment, the court ORDERS that this case is DISMISSED based on the
plaintiff’s failure to diligently prosecute it. See Civ. L. R. 41(c) and Fed. R. Civ.
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P. 41(b). This dismissal is WITHOUT PREJUDICE; the plaintiff may petition for
reinstatement of the case within twenty-one days of the date of this order. Civ.
L. R. 41(c).
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 13th day of September, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
________________________________________
HON. PAMELA PEPPER
United States District Judge

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