Fresh Bread Delivery, LLC v. Gold Medal Bakery Route Distribution, LLC

Background

Fresh Bread Delivery, LLC, Sandra Bell, and Oscar Turner filed the action against Gold Medal Bakery Route Distribution, LLC, on January 17, 2019. On the parties’ consent, the Court granted the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and stayed the case pending arbitration.

Fresh Bread Delivery filed a complaint with the American Arbitration Association on April 16, 2019. The arbitration organization identified an apparent deficiency and asked Fresh Bread to correct it. Fresh Bread did not correct the deficiency, and the arbitration was administratively closed on May 28, 2019, with an option to resubmit the matter. The opinion states that the matter had not been resubmitted.

Failure to Prosecute

The parties’ counsel later submitted a status letter. Plaintiffs’ counsel reported that he had been unable to reach his clients despite repeated attempts. On January 31, 2022, the Court ordered plaintiffs to file a letter stating whether they intended to resubmit the case to arbitration. The Court warned that failure to respond by February 14, 2022, could lead to dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), which allows dismissal when a plaintiff fails to prosecute an action or comply with a court order.

Plaintiffs did not respond to the January 31 order and did not otherwise indicate that they intended to pursue the case.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(b) because the Court had received no response from plaintiffs or indication that they intended to continue the case, and because their counsel had been unable to reach them despite repeated attempts. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.