Klaysmat v. Northeast Regional Corrections Center

Background

Eric A. Klaysmat filed a complaint alleging that the defendants violated his constitutional rights during a period of incarceration at the St. Louis County Jail. He also filed an incomplete application to proceed without paying the filing fee, known as an application to proceed in forma pauperis.

Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois ordered Klaysmat to submit an amended application within 30 days. The order warned that failing to do so could lead to a recommendation that the complaint be dismissed without prejudice. Klaysmat did not file the amended application. Instead, he asked for a hearing on his original application.

Objection and Analysis

The magistrate judge recommended denying the incomplete fee-waiver application, denying Klaysmat’s request for a hearing on that application, and dismissing the action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute—meaning failure to move the case forward or follow a court order.

Klaysmat objected, arguing that the magistrate judge improperly denied his request for a hearing. He stated that he had “two SSI #.” The district court noted that his original application had reported receiving $0 in disability income, including Social Security or insurance payments. The court explained that any information about his income had to be provided in a sworn, amended application rather than at a hearing.

Ruling

Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan overruled Klaysmat’s objection and adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation. The court held that denying the hearing was not erroneous and that Klaysmat’s failure to file the required amended application supported dismissal for failure to prosecute.

The court ordered that the action be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE and directed entry of judgment. The ruling disposed of the case based on Klaysmat’s failure to comply with the filing order; it did not decide the merits of his constitutional allegations.