Jackson v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation

Background

Joyce Jackson alleges that she fell and suffered injuries while traveling on a passenger train. National Railroad Passenger Corporation removed the action from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Westchester, on August 24, 2020, and filed an answer on August 28, 2020.

The court scheduled an initial pretrial conference for October 14, 2020, but Jackson did not appear. The conference was later held on October 21, 2020, after which the court issued a discovery plan and scheduling order and referred the case to Magistrate Judge Krause for settlement. No settlement conference occurred because, according to the opinion, Jackson did not comply with the requirement to provide a pre-conference submission and disregarded court orders.

The defendant later told the court that Jackson had not responded to written discovery requests, had not provided initial disclosures, and had ignored requests to meet and confer about those issues. The court directed Jackson to respond to the defendant’s letter, but she did not do so. The defendant also reported that Jackson was not prepared to attend a deposition scheduled for March 5, 2021, and had not provided alternative dates. Jackson had not responded to either of the defendant’s letters as of the date of the order.

Court’s action

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district judge to dismiss an action for failure to prosecute. The court found that Jackson’s failure to participate in discovery and her disregard of court orders had impeded the court’s efforts to manage and resolve cases efficiently.

The court did not dismiss the action in this order. Instead, it ordered Jackson to show cause in writing by March 25, 2021, why the action should not be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b). The order states that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the case for failure to prosecute. Judge Philip M. Halpern issued and signed the order.