Turner-Hawkins v. Carter
- John Cronan
- 1:21-cv-08979
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Turner-Hawkins v. Carter, Judge Cronan dismissed the case without prejudice after the plaintiff missed orders to amend his complaint.
Rashid Turner-Hawkins, whose case was dismissed without prejudice after he missed court-ordered deadlines and did not file an amended complaint.
What happened
In Turner-Hawkins v. Carter, Rashid Turner-Hawkins, who did not have a lawyer, claimed that his rights were violated while he was confined at the Vernon C. Bain Center beginning October 5, 2021.
The court ordered him to amend his complaint to identify a captain named as “Captain John Doe.” After receiving the names of possible captains, Turner-Hawkins missed multiple deadlines to file the amendment and did not request more time.
Judge John P. Cronan dismissed the case without prejudice because Turner-Hawkins failed to pursue it and failed to follow the court’s orders. The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to him and close the case.
The detailed version
- Turner-Hawkins v. Carter · No. 1:21-cv-08979
- John Cronan
- Apr. 26, 2022
Background
Rashid Turner-Hawkins, proceeding without a lawyer, brought the action alleging violations of his rights while confined at the Vernon C. Bain Center beginning on October 5, 2021. The complaint identified one individual defendant as “Captain John Doe.”
Orders to Amend
On December 7, 2021, the court ordered Turner-Hawkins to amend his complaint after receiving the identity and badge number of the captain. The New York City Law Department later identified three captains who supervised intake procedures at the facility on October 5, 2021, including their work times, and represented that it had served Turner-Hawkins with that information.
The court then ordered Turner-Hawkins to file an amended complaint by March 7, 2022. He did not meet that deadline. On April 5, 2022, the court extended the deadline to April 15 and expressly warned that failing to amend could lead to dismissal for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to continue pursuing the case, and failure to follow a court order. Turner-Hawkins still did not file an amended complaint or request another extension.
Ruling
The court dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with its orders. The order relied on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), which permits a court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff does not pursue it or does not obey court orders. The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Turner-Hawkins and close the case. The order did not decide the underlying allegations.
Disposition
The case was dismissed without prejudice.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.