Velazquez v. State of New York

Background

On March 9, 2021, the court dismissed Velazquez’s claims without prejudice and allowed him 30 days to file an amended complaint. After he did not meet that deadline, the court issued two orders requiring him to explain why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. The first order gave him until May 24, 2021, to respond, and the second gave him until June 28, 2021. Both orders were returned as undeliverable.

The court stated that Velazquez had not communicated with it since submitting a filing dated November 12, 2020. It also noted that Velazquez had previously submitted written notices of new addresses and had been advised that he needed to promptly notify the court if his address changed. As of the order, he had not filed an amended complaint, shown good cause, or otherwise prosecuted the case for nearly eight months.

Legal standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a court to dismiss a case when a plaintiff fails to prosecute or fails to comply with the rules or a court order. The court explained that it could order this dismissal on its own and that dismissal for failure to prosecute is a severe remedy generally reserved for extreme situations. Before dismissing, courts consider the length of the delay, whether the plaintiff received notice that further delay could lead to dismissal, likely prejudice to the defendants, the balance between court administration and the plaintiff’s opportunity to be heard, and whether lesser sanctions would be effective.

Ruling

Judge Kenneth M. Karas concluded that these factors favored dismissal. The court found that Velazquez had failed to respond to three separate orders over nearly four months, had not met the deadline for filing an amended complaint, and had not otherwise prosecuted the case since November 12, 2020. Accordingly, the court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Velazquez a copy of the order.