Dubarry v. Capra

Background

The plaintiffs, Darius Dubarry, Harry Rivera, and Jayquan Griffin, brought the action on behalf of themselves and others described as similarly situated. On September 27, 2022, the Court granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss the action without prejudice and allowed the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint addressing the deficiencies identified by the Court.

The plaintiffs did not file an amended complaint. On November 21, 2022, the Court issued an order requiring them to explain why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute, which means failing to move the case forward. The plaintiffs did not respond or otherwise communicate with the Court.

Legal standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute or fails to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a court order. The court also recognized its inherent authority to dismiss a case for failure to prosecute without a defendant’s motion.

The Court considered the factors identified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: the duration of the plaintiff’s failures, whether the plaintiff received notice that further delay could lead to dismissal, likely prejudice to the defendant, the balance between court congestion and the plaintiff’s opportunity to be heard, and whether lesser sanctions would be effective. No single factor was controlling.

Ruling

The Court concluded that these factors favored dismissal. It emphasized that the plaintiffs had been ordered twice to file an amended complaint and had been warned that failure to do so could result in dismissal. Because the plaintiffs did not comply with the Court’s orders, Judge Kenneth M. Karas dismissed the plaintiffs’ case without prejudice for failure to prosecute.