Turk v. Rubbermaid Incorporated

Background

Lori Marie Turk and Luann Rutherford sued Rubbermaid Incorporated individually and on behalf of others similarly situated. On March 21, 2022, the court granted Rubbermaid Incorporated’s motion to dismiss. It dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims without prejudice, except for the claim seeking injunctive relief, which it dismissed with prejudice. The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint addressing the identified deficiencies and warned that failing to meet the deadline would result in dismissal of the action with prejudice.

The plaintiffs did not file an amended complaint.

Legal standard

Under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court may involuntarily dismiss a case when a plaintiff fails to prosecute the case or comply with the rules or a court order. The court explained that it also has inherent authority to dismiss a case for failure to prosecute without a motion from the defendant. Such a dismissal is a harsh remedy, and courts consider factors including the length of the noncompliance, whether the plaintiff received notice of the possible dismissal, likely prejudice to the defendant, the need to manage the court’s docket while giving the plaintiff a fair chance to be heard, and whether a less severe sanction was considered.

Ruling

The court concluded that these factors favored dismissal. The plaintiffs had been given more than a month to file an amended complaint, had been warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal with prejudice, and still had not filed one. Judge Kenneth M. Karas dismissed the plaintiffs’ case without prejudice for failure to prosecute and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.