Gotham Fresh LLC v. National Grocery Co. Inc.
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:19-cv-06550
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Judge Abrams dismissed Gotham Fresh v. National Grocery without prejudice after Gotham Fresh failed to follow court orders or prosecute the case.
Gotham Fresh LLC’s action against National Grocery Co. Inc., doing business as C-Town Avenue Ju, and Radi Hamdan was dismissed without prejudice, and the case was closed.
What happened
In Gotham Fresh LLC v. National Grocery Co. Inc., the court had granted Gotham Fresh’s request for a preliminary injunction but held the judgment while Gotham Fresh served required documents on the defendants. Gotham Fresh did not file proof that it had served those documents.
The court then ordered Gotham Fresh to explain its service efforts and whether it intended to continue the case. Gotham Fresh did not respond to that order or to a later warning that the case would be dismissed if it did not respond.
Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the action without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Gotham Fresh LLC v. National Grocery Co. Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-06550
- Ronnie Abrams
- Nov. 12, 2019
Background
Gotham Fresh LLC filed the action on July 15, 2019. On July 22, 2019, the court granted Gotham Fresh’s motion for a preliminary injunction, directed the Clerk of Court to delay entering the judgment for two weeks, and ordered Gotham Fresh to serve the defendants with documents identified in that order by July 24, 2019.
On August 1, 2019, the court continued to delay entry of the preliminary-injunction judgment until Gotham Fresh served the required documents. By October 4, 2019, Gotham Fresh had not filed proof of service. The court ordered Gotham Fresh to report on its efforts to serve the defendants and state whether it intended to continue prosecuting the action. Gotham Fresh did not respond.
On October 22, 2019, the court again ordered Gotham Fresh to say by November 5, 2019, whether it intended to pursue the case. The court warned that it would dismiss the action under Rule 41 if it received no response. Gotham Fresh did not respond to either order and gave no other indication that it intended to pursue the action.
Rule and analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) permits a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute or fails to comply with the federal rules or a court order. The court stated that it could order this dismissal on its own after notifying the plaintiff. Because Gotham Fresh had not responded to the court’s orders or indicated that it intended to continue the case, the court applied Rule 41(b).
Ruling
Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b). The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.