Atherley v. New York City Department of Education
- Clarke
- 1:23-cv-00383
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Atherley v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Clarke dismissed the case without prejudice after plaintiff failed to file a required addendum or pursue it.
The plaintiff and the defendants were affected. The action was closed without prejudice after the plaintiff failed to comply with the court's order and pursue the case.
What happened
In Atherley v. New York City Department of Education, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint that referred to an attached addendum, but no addendum was included. The court ordered the plaintiff to file it.
The court extended the filing deadline twice and warned that it would dismiss the case if the addendum was not filed. The plaintiff did not file the addendum or otherwise indicate an intention to continue the case.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute, terminated all pending motions, and closed the case. The order was issued by Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke.
The detailed version
- Atherley v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:23-cv-00383
- Clarke
- Jan. 14, 2025
Background
The plaintiff filed the action on January 15,
- The defendants moved to dismiss on August 30,
- On March 29, 2024, the court allowed the plaintiff to amend the complaint by May 1,
- The court extended that deadline twice, and the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on August 15, 2024.
Failure to File the Addendum
The amended complaint stated that the case's facts were described in an attached addendum, but no addendum was attached. The court ordered the plaintiff to file it by September 16, 2024. After the plaintiff failed to do so, the court extended the deadline to November 8, 2024, and warned that failure to file the addendum would result in dismissal for failure to prosecute. The plaintiff did not file the addendum and did not otherwise indicate an intention to pursue the action.
Ruling
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute or comply with the rules or a court order. The court dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(b) because it had received no response from the plaintiff, including no indication that the plaintiff intended to continue the case. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate all pending motions and close the case.
Disposition
The action was dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. All pending motions were terminated, and the case was closed.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.