Mouazeb v. Fargesen

Background

Emilio Habib Mouazeb began a civil securities-fraud action against Vitaly Fargesen, Igor Palatnik, and Canafarma Hemp Products Corp. on November 8, 2021. Standmill S.R.O. filed a related action against the same defendants on February 24, 2022. The court consolidated the two cases under No. 21-CV-9226 on October 13, 2022.

On February 1, 2023, the court allowed the Government to intervene and stayed discovery while a related criminal case was resolved. The court later directed the parties to file a joint status letter. Instead, plaintiffs’ attorneys Christopher D. Warren and Stephen Reich moved to withdraw, citing irreconcilable differences and stating that the plaintiffs had not responded to their communications. The court granted the withdrawal motion on July 8, 2024. It informed Standmill that, as an entity, it could not proceed without a lawyer and ordered both parties to appear within 30 days or face dismissal for failure to prosecute. The court stated that five calendar days had passed after the appearance deadline.

Legal standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute the case or comply with a court order. The court explained that it had authority to dismiss the action on its own initiative. It found dismissal appropriate because the plaintiffs had been warned that further delay would result in dismissal and had caused unreasonable delay. The court also concluded that dismissal without prejudice balanced reducing court congestion with protecting the plaintiffs’ opportunity to be heard.

Ruling

The court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. It directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.