Pichardo v. Adams

Background

Freddy Pichardo sued Eric Adams, in his official capacity as Mayor of the City of New York; Dr. Ashwin Vasan, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and the City of New York. Pichardo asserted federal and state claims in New York Supreme Court. The defendants removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On July 29, 2022, the court ordered Pichardo to file a notice of appearance by August 10, 2022. The court warned that failure to comply could result in dismissal for failure to prosecute. The defendants served a copy of that order on Pichardo’s counsel. The opinion states that Pichardo had not appeared by the date of the order.

Reasoning

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute or comply with a court order. The court concluded that dismissal without prejudice was appropriate because Pichardo had been warned that further delay could lead to dismissal and had caused unreasonable delay. The court stated that dismissal without prejudice balanced reducing court-calendar congestion with protecting a party’s opportunity to be heard.

Disposition

The action was DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at Docket Number 10 and mark the case as closed.