Brooks v. Rardin
- Shannon Elkins
- 0:24-cv-03804
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Brooks v. Rardin, Magistrate Judge Elkins recommended dismissing Brooks’s case without prejudice because he neither paid the fee nor requested fee-waiver status.
John Wayne Brooks’s case was recommended for dismissal without prejudice because he did not pay the filing fee, request permission to proceed without paying it, or communicate with the court. The recommendation is not a final district court order.
What happened
In Brooks v. Rardin, the clerk directed John Wayne Brooks to pay the filing fee or apply to proceed without paying it within 15 days. The warning said the case could be dismissed if he did not do so.
The deadline passed, but Brooks did neither and did not communicate with the court after starting the case. The magistrate judge therefore recommended dismissal for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins recommended that the case be dismissed without prejudice. The document is a recommendation, not a final order or judgment, and it explains that Brooks could file written objections within 14 days after being served.
The detailed version
- Brooks v. Rardin · No. 0:24-cv-03804
- Shannon G. Elkins
- Nov. 5, 2024
Background
The clerk sent John Wayne Brooks a letter dated October 3, 2024, directing him to pay the filing fee or apply for permission to proceed without paying the fee within 15 days. The letter warned that failing to do so could lead to dismissal for failure to prosecute.
The deadline passed. Brooks had not paid the filing fee, had not applied for permission to proceed without paying it, and had not communicated with the court about the case since beginning it.
Recommendation
The court recommended dismissal under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. That rule allows a court to dismiss an action when a party fails to prosecute the case or comply with court rules or a court order.
The recommendation states: “this action be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) for failure to prosecute.” The recommendation does not address the underlying legal claims.
Effect of the Recommendation
The document is a report and recommendation, not an order or judgment of the District Court. It states that Brooks may file and serve specific written objections within 14 days after receiving the report. The document also states that the report is not directly appealable to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.