McGinnis v. Orange County Jail

Background

Jermaine McGinnis, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action on April 22, 2022. The defendants named in the caption were Orange County; Correction Officer Bandes, Badge #105 or #106; Correction Officer M. Carter, Badge #339; Correction Officer Donahough; and Correction Officer D. Powel.

Orange County and two correction officers filed a motion to dismiss. The court denied that motion without prejudice and stated that it would set a deadline for all defendants to respond after all defendants had been served. Counsel later appeared for Correction Officer D. Powles and Correction Officer M. Carter.

Address-update orders

Beginning in August 2022, court mail sent to McGinnis at the address listed in the complaint was returned as undeliverable. On August 23, 2022, the court ordered McGinnis to provide his current address in writing by September 23, 2022. The court warned that failing to do so could result in dismissal for failure to comply with court orders or failure to prosecute, meaning failure to move the case forward.

The August 23 order was also returned as undeliverable. On October 3, 2022, the court extended the deadline to November 3, 2022, and again warned that it would dismiss the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) if McGinnis did not provide his address.

Ruling

McGinnis did not update his address in writing and therefore did not comply with either order. After considering the factors identified in Lucas v. Miles, the court concluded that McGinnis had abandoned the case. Judge Briccetti dismissed the case with prejudice for failure to prosecute or comply with court orders under Rule 41(b).

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to pursue an appeal without paying filing fees and directed the clerk to close the case.