Folson v. Swanson
- Susan Nelson
- 0:12-cv-01137
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Folson v. Swanson, Judge Nelson dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute and denied pending motions as moot.
Al Folson's action was dismissed without prejudice; Lori Swanson and the other defendants were parties to the dismissed action.
What happened
In Folson v. Swanson, the case had been paused for more than ten years while another case was resolved. After that pause ended, the court twice ordered Al Folson to state whether he intended to continue, but he did not respond.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice because Folson failed to prosecute it. This means the dismissal did not bar refiling based on the order’s stated terms. The court also ruled that Folson’s application to proceed without paying filing fees and his request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction were denied as moot.
Judge Susan Richard Nelson entered the dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) and ordered judgment to be entered.
The detailed version
- Folson v. Swanson · No. 0:12-cv-01137
- Susan Nelson
- Oct. 3, 2022
Background
The court had stayed this case for more than a decade while waiting for the resolution of a related proceeding. After judgment was entered in that proceeding, the court lifted the stay.
Before lifting the stay, the court twice directed plaintiff Al Folson to notify the court whether he intended to continue prosecuting the case. The second order gave Folson 21 days to respond and stated that the case would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute if he did not do so. The deadline passed, and Folson did not respond to either order.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute. Rule 41(b) permits a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute the case or comply with the court’s rules or orders.
The court separately denied as moot Folson’s application to proceed without paying filing fees and his motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The order directed that judgment be entered.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.