Heifetz v. Macken
- Virginia Demarchi
- 5:19-cv-04081
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Heifetz v. Macken, Judge Demarchi ordered responses explaining why the action should not be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
Shelby Gail Heifetz and defendants Valerie J. Macken, Jose Hernandez, and Galdino Hernandez; the action remained pending subject to the required responses and appearance.
What happened
Heifetz v. Macken was filed by Shelby Gail Heifetz. The docket showed that she had served Jose Hernandez but did not show completed service or waived service for Valerie J. Macken and Galdino Hernandez.
The court also noted that Heifetz missed the deadline to file a notice seeking mediation and did not request relief from that deadline. It ordered the parties to respond by December 18, 2019, and to appear on December 20, 2019, to explain why the action should not be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
Judge Virginia K. Demarchi issued the order to show cause on December 11, 2019. The order did not dismiss the action; it required the parties to explain why dismissal should not occur.
The detailed version
- Heifetz v. Macken · No. 5:19-cv-04081
- Virginia Demarchi
- Dec. 11, 2019
Background
Shelby Gail Heifetz filed the action on July 16,
- Under the court's service procedures, her deadline to serve all defendants or request administrative relief from the service deadline was September 16,
- The docket showed that she served Jose Hernandez on August 15,
- It did not show that she completed service on Valerie J. Macken or Galdino Hernandez, or that either of those defendants waived service.
The court also identified missed case-management deadlines. The deadline for a joint site inspection was October 29, 2019, and the deadline to file a notice of need for mediation was December 10, 2019. Heifetz did not file the mediation notice or seek relief from that deadline.
Order to Show Cause
The court stated that it has inherent authority to dismiss an action on its own initiative to promote the orderly and efficient resolution of cases. It ordered the parties to file written responses, jointly or separately, by December 18, 2019, and to appear on December 20, 2019, to show why the action should not be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. Failure to prosecute means not moving a case forward as required.
Disposition
Judge Virginia K. Demarchi issued an order to show cause. The opinion did not dismiss the action; it directed the parties to explain why dismissal should not occur. The text does not state what happened after the response and hearing dates.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.