Linehan v. Johnston

Background

Dennis D. Linehan filed a complaint and an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning an application to proceed without paying the filing fee, on December 27, 2018. On January 24, 2019, Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez ordered Linehan to provide additional information for that application within 20 days.

Linehan did not respond before the deadline. The magistrate judge then issued a February 20, 2019 Report and Recommendation recommending dismissal of the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

Linehan later filed a February 27, 2019 letter and supplemental materials on March 6, 2019. He stated that he had not known about the January 24 order and provided financial information supplementing his application.

Analysis

The district court reviewed the Report and Recommendation de novo, meaning it conducted its own review rather than simply accepting the magistrate judge’s recommendation. The court noted that district courts in the circuit had rejected recommendations to dismiss for failure to prosecute when a pro se plaintiff later submitted the overdue materials.

The court found that Linehan’s later filings responded to the January 24 order. It therefore concluded that the recommendation to dismiss the case for failure to prosecute should be rejected and that the matter should return to the magistrate judge for consideration of Linehan’s pending motions on the merits.

Order

Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright ordered that the February 20, 2019 Report and Recommendation was rejected. She also ordered that the matter was remanded to Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez for consideration on the merits. The opinion did not decide the underlying claims.

Disposition

The Report and Recommendation was rejected, and the matter was remanded to the magistrate judge.