Bethune v. Knutson
- David Doty
- 0:21-cv-02674
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 6
In Bethune v. Knutson, Judge Doty lifted stays, reopened three cases, and required filing fees or fee applications within 21 days.
Jason Lavet Bethune and the three federal actions he brought against the named defendants.
What happened
Bethune v. Knutson concerns three civil actions brought by Jason Lavet Bethune. The court had stayed them in January 2022 while two related state criminal matters were pending, and Bethune had been ordered to report when those matters ended.
After reviewing the state-court records, the court concluded that the criminal matters were complete for practical purposes. The court also noted that Bethune had not paid the filing fee in any of the three federal actions and that his earlier requests to proceed without paying the fee had been dismissed without prejudice.
Judge David S. Doty lifted the stays and ordered the clerk to administratively reopen the three cases. Within 21 days, Bethune must either pay the filing fee for each action or apply to proceed without paying it; otherwise, the court will dismiss that action without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
The detailed version
- Bethune v. Knutson · No. 0:21-cv-02674
- David Doty
- June 6, 2024
Background
Jason Lavet Bethune brought three civil actions: one against Scott Baker, one against Matthew Schidmt, and one against David Knutson, Matthew Schidmt, Scott Baker, Ted Knutson, Dakota County ALL, and Dakota District Court.
In a January 2022 order, the court abstained from exercising jurisdiction under the Younger doctrine because the actions involved damages claims and two related state criminal matters involving Bethune were pending. The court stayed the three federal actions and directed Bethune to notify the court when the state matters, including any appeals, were complete.
The court reviewed the state-court records because it had received no update from Bethune. In one state case, Bethune was appointed a public defender, was ordered to undergo a competency examination, and was later found incompetent to proceed. Dakota County authorities did not recommend civil commitment at that time. The state case's register of actions lists the charges as dismissed. In the other state case, Bethune pleaded guilty to one petty-misdemeanor count of failing to drive with due care. His sentence was continued for dismissal after a three-month probation period, and that case's register of actions also lists the relevant charges as dismissed.
Ruling
The court concluded that Bethune's state-court matters were complete for practical purposes and that the reasons for the stay no longer applied. It therefore lifted the stay in each federal action and directed the clerk to administratively reopen all three matters.
The court separately addressed the filing-fee issue. Bethune had not paid the filing fee in any action, and the court had dismissed his earlier applications to proceed without paying the fee without prejudice. For each action he wants to continue, Bethune must, within 21 days of the order's date, either pay that action's filing fee or apply to proceed without paying it. If he does neither, the court will dismiss that action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.