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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Nov. 21, 2019

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe

Judge
Ronnie Abrams
Docket
1:19-cv-02376
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Malibu Media v. Doe, Judge Abrams dismissed the case with prejudice after Malibu Media failed to respond about pursuing it.

Who this affects

Malibu Media, LLC and John Doe; the action was dismissed with prejudice and the case was closed.

What happened

Malibu Media, LLC sued John Doe, identified as the subscriber assigned a particular internet address. The opinion states that no other defendants were named.

Malibu Media first received more time to serve Doe, then filed a notice voluntarily dismissing Doe without prejudice. The court later warned that it would dismiss the action with prejudice if Malibu Media did not respond, but Malibu Media filed no response.

Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the entire action with prejudice under Rule 41(b) because Malibu Media failed to pursue the case and comply with the court’s order. The clerk was directed to close the case.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:19-cv-02376
Judge
Ronnie Abrams
Date
Nov. 21, 2019

Background

Malibu Media, LLC brought this action against “John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 108.30.54.43.” The opinion states that no other defendants were named.

Procedural history

On October 29, 2019, Malibu Media asked for more time to serve John Doe, seeking an extension through December 17, 2019. The court granted that request on October 30, 2019. On November 1, 2019, Malibu Media filed a notice voluntarily dismissing John Doe without prejudice.

On November 7, 2019, the court told Malibu Media that it would dismiss the action with prejudice if Malibu Media did not respond by November 14, 2019. Malibu Media filed no response, including no indication that it intended to continue pursuing the case.

Rule and ruling

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute the case or comply with the rules or a court order. The court also explained that it may issue such a dismissal on its own initiative after notifying the plaintiff.

The court dismissed the action with prejudice under Rule 41(b) because Malibu Media had not responded to the court’s November 7 order. The clerk was directed to close the case.

Effect

The opinion’s stated disposition is dismissal of the action with prejudice. The opinion does not separately describe any additional claims or defendants.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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