Whitaker v. LSH Plus LLC
- Edward Davila
- 5:21-cv-00881
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
Whitaker v. LSH Plus LLC: Judge Davila ordered Whitaker to explain his inactivity or seek default judgment before possible dismissal.
Brian Whitaker must respond to the order and appear at the scheduled hearing; LSH Plus LLC is affected because the action may be dismissed if Whitaker does not comply.
What happened
Whitaker v. LSH Plus LLC began when Brian Whitaker filed the action on February 4, 2021. He did not meet a deadline to request mediation, and after obtaining an entry of default against LSH Plus LLC, he took no further action.
The court ordered Whitaker to file by August 9 either a motion for default judgment or a written response explaining why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. The court also ordered him to appear on August 19 to address the issue. This order did not itself dismiss the action.
Judge Edward J. Davila stated that the action would be dismissed with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) if Whitaker failed to file one of the required documents by the deadline.
The detailed version
- Whitaker v. LSH Plus LLC · No. 5:21-cv-00881
- Edward Davila
- July 20, 2021
Background
Brian Whitaker filed the action on February 4, 2021. Under the court's scheduling order, the parties' last day for a joint site inspection was May 10, 2021, and Whitaker's last day to file a notice requesting mediation was June 21, 2021. Whitaker did not file that notice or seek relief from the deadline.
On April 9, 2021, Whitaker requested entry of default against LSH Plus LLC. The clerk entered default on April 14, 2021. The opinion states that Whitaker took no further action after that.
Order to Show Cause
The court explained that it has inherent authority to dismiss an action to ensure the orderly and prompt handling of cases. It ordered Whitaker to file by August 9, 2021, either a motion for default judgment or a written response to the order. It also ordered him to appear before the court on August 19, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., and show cause—give a reason—why the action should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
Disposition
The court issued an order to show cause; it did not dismiss the action in this order. The order states that if Whitaker failed to file a motion for default judgment or a written response by August 9, 2021, the court would dismiss the action with prejudice under Rule 41(b).
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.