Velma H. v. Kijakazi
- Dulce Foster
- 0:22-cv-02992
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Velma H. v. Kijakazi, Judge Foster dismissed the Social Security action without prejudice after Velma H. failed to prosecute.
Velma H.’s action against Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, was dismissed without prejudice; the court did not reach the underlying Social Security dispute.
What happened
Velma H. v. Kijakazi involved Velma H.’s challenge to a Social Security decision. The Commissioner filed an answer and the administrative record, but Velma H. did not file the required motion for summary judgment and supporting materials.
The court ordered Velma H. to file those materials by July 5, 2023, and warned that it could dismiss the case for failure to prosecute. Velma H. did not respond to that order.
Judge Dulce J. Foster concluded that Velma H. had abandoned the case and dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute. The court did not decide the underlying Social Security dispute.
The detailed version
- Velma H. v. Kijakazi · No. 0:22-cv-02992
- Dulce J. Foster
- July 20, 2023
Background
Velma H. filed the complaint on November 30, 2022, and applied to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. The court granted that application on December 1, 2022.
The Commissioner received extensions to file the administrative record and answer. She filed both on April 24, 2023. Under the applicable local rules, Velma H.’s motion for summary judgment and supporting memorandum were due by June 23, 2023.
On June 26, 2023, the court ordered Velma H. to file the motion and supporting documents by July 5, 2023, and advised that it could dismiss the complaint for failure to prosecute. Velma H. did not respond to the order and did not file the required motion or supporting documents.
Ruling
The court concluded that Velma H. had repeatedly ignored court orders and had abandoned the matter. Under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
The order disposed of the case on a procedural ground. It did not decide whether the Commissioner’s Social Security decision was legally correct.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.