Fontell D. F. v. Saul
- Becky Thorson
- 0:18-cv-02627
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 4
In Fontell D. F. v. Saul, Judge Thorson dismissed the Social Security complaint without prejudice because Fontell D. F. did not prosecute.
Fontell D. F.’s Social Security review case was dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The opinion identifies Andrew Saul as the Commissioner of Social Security and defendant.
What happened
In Fontell D. F. v. Saul, Fontell D. F. asked the court to review the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision. The court considered whether the case should be dismissed because Fontell D. F. had not pursued it.
The Commissioner filed an answer and the Social Security record. Fontell D. F. did not file the required motion asking for judgment after receiving several deadline extensions, and also did not respond to the court’s order to explain why the case should not be dismissed.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling on that basis. Judge Becky R. Thorson ordered that judgment be entered.
The detailed version
- Fontell D. F. v. Saul · No. 0:18-cv-02627
- Becky Thorson
- Aug. 23, 2019
Background
Fontell D. F. filed a complaint seeking review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision. The Acting Commissioner later filed an answer and the administrative record.
Under District of Minnesota Local Rule 7.2, a plaintiff in a Social Security review case must file a motion for summary judgment and supporting memorandum within 60 days after the Commissioner serves the answer and administrative record. The court granted Fontell D. F. multiple extensions. The final extension set June 14, 2019, as the deadline and stated that no further extensions would be allowed.
The court issued a show-cause order on August 9, 2019, requiring Fontell D. F. to respond by August 21 and explain why the case should not be dismissed for failure to pursue it. As of the order, Fontell D. F. had filed neither the required summary-judgment motion and supporting memorandum nor a response to the show-cause order.
Court’s Analysis
The court applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), which permits dismissal when a plaintiff fails to prosecute an action or comply with court rules or orders. The court also noted that a district court may dismiss a case on its own initiative when a plaintiff deliberately fails to comply with a court order.
The court concluded that Fontell D. F.’s failure to meet the extended deadline and failure to respond to the show-cause order showed that he had abandoned the action. It therefore dismissed the action for failure to prosecute.
Disposition
The court ordered that Fontell D. F.’s complaint be dismissed without prejudice. Judge Becky R. Thorson also ordered that judgment be entered accordingly.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.