Gluck v. Equifax Information Services, LLC

Background

Avruhum Gluck sued Equifax Information Services, LLC; Experian Information Solutions, Inc.; Trans Union LLC; American Express Co.; and Citibank, N.A., seeking damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Gluck later voluntarily dismissed his claims against Trans Union, Citibank, Equifax, and Experian, leaving American Express as the remaining defendant. The opinion states that the dismissals against those four defendants were with prejudice.

On March 19, 2020, Gluck told the court that he and American Express were beginning arbitration over the remaining claims. The court instructed the parties to file a status letter within one week after arbitration ended. The court later ordered a joint status update by December 14, 2020, and another by January 8, 2021. Both orders warned that failing to respond could result in dismissal. The parties did not respond to either order.

Rule 41(b) standard

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 court rules or a court order. The court considered the duration of the noncompliance, whether Gluck had notice that dismissal could result, possible prejudice to the defendant, the balance between managing the court’s docket and giving Gluck a chance to be heard, and whether a less severe sanction was appropriate. The court also noted that dismissal under Rule 41(b) is the harshest sanction and requires notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Court’s analysis

The court found that Gluck had failed to comply with its orders for nearly two months despite multiple orders and extensions. It found that he had clear notice that noncompliance could lead to dismissal. The court also found that the parties had been given multiple opportunities to provide the required updates. Although the court stated that American Express would not suffer undue prejudice from continuing the case because American Express had also failed to comply with the status-update orders, the court concluded that dismissal was appropriate to manage the case and its docket.

The court selected dismissal without prejudice as the less severe sanction. The opinion does not decide the merits of Gluck’s Fair Credit Reporting Act claims or the outcome of the arbitration.

Disposition

The action was dismissed without prejudice under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with court orders. The clerk was directed to close the case and mail the order to American Express.