Nieto v. Santa Clara University
- Jacquelyn Corley
- 3:20-cv-01887
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Nieto v. Santa Clara University, Judge Corley gave self-represented Laura Nieto a final chance to prosecute before likely dismissal for noncompliance.
Laura Nieto, who was required to take specified steps to continue prosecuting her lawsuit; Santa Clara University, which was involved in the required discovery and case-management process; and the lawsuit, which faced possible dismissal if Nieto did not comply.
What happened
In Nieto v. Santa Clara University, Laura Nieto represented herself after her lawyer withdrew. The court said she repeatedly failed to cooperate with Santa Clara University in preparing joint case-management statements and missed several conferences.
The court gave Nieto one final chance to continue the lawsuit. By May 6, 2021, she had to provide initial disclosures, answer overdue written discovery, give three available dates in June for a seven-hour deposition, and file on the docket the materials she provided to the University. She also had to attend a May 13 hearing.
Judge Jacquelyn Scott Corley warned that failing to follow the order or attend the hearing would likely result in dismissal of Nieto’s complaint with prejudice. This order itself did not dismiss the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Nieto v. Santa Clara University · No. 3:20-cv-01887
- Jacquelyn Corley
- Apr. 23, 2021
Background
After Laura Nieto’s lawyer withdrew, Nieto proceeded without a lawyer. The court scheduled case-management conferences and required the parties to prepare joint statements. Santa Clara University filed a statement, but the opinion says Nieto did not cooperate in preparing it and did not attend the November 5, 2020 conference because of illness.
The court later ordered Nieto to cooperate and warned that further noncompliance could lead to dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41, which permits dismissal for failure to prosecute. According to the opinion, Nieto did not respond to an order requiring her to explain why she had withdrawn her earlier consent to have a magistrate judge handle the case. The opinion also describes unsuccessful efforts by defense counsel to arrange a meet-and-confer call, Nieto’s failure to participate in preparing another case-management statement, and her failure to attend the January 21, 2021 conference.
Nieto did appear at a February 25 hearing. The court then scheduled another case-management conference for April 22 and again directed her to cooperate in preparing a joint statement. The opinion states that Nieto continued to refuse to cooperate, did not attend the April 22 conference, and did not otherwise communicate with the court.
Order
The court gave Nieto one final chance to prosecute the action. It ordered her, by May 6, 2021, to provide Santa Clara University with: (1) her initial disclosures; (2) overdue responses to the University’s written discovery requests; and (3) three June 2021 dates when she was available for a seven-hour deposition. The court also ordered her to file on the docket all materials she provided to the University by that deadline.
The court scheduled a further hearing for May 13, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. It warned that failure to comply with the order, including failure to provide the required information or attend the hearing, would likely result in dismissal of the complaint with prejudice. The order itself is an order to show cause and does not dismiss the complaint.
Disposition and Effect
This was a procedural order concerning prosecution of the case, compliance with discovery and case-management requirements, and possible future dismissal. The court did not decide the underlying claims against Santa Clara University. Judge Jacquelyn Scott Corley also encouraged Nieto to seek free assistance from the Northern District’s Legal Help Desk.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.