Nisbett v. Bees Lighting
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:21-cv-03374
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Nisbett v. Bees Lighting, Judge Engelmayer dismissed the case without prejudice because Nisbett failed to prosecute after obtaining a default certificate.
Kareem Nisbett’s case was dismissed without prejudice after he did not file a motion for default judgment or otherwise move the case forward. Bees Lighting had not appeared or responded to the complaint.
What happened
In Nisbett v. Bees Lighting, the court ordered Kareem Nisbett to explain why his case should not be dismissed because he had not moved it forward. The court allowed him to respond by properly requesting a judgment against Bees Lighting, which had not appeared.
Nisbett obtained a Certificate of Default against Bees Lighting on February 10, 2023. The court then gave him 30 more days to contact Bees Lighting or file a request for a default judgment, but he did neither.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b) and the court’s inherent power. The clerk was directed to close the case.
The detailed version
- Nisbett v. Bees Lighting · No. 1:21-cv-03374
- Paul Engelmayer
- June 30, 2023
Background
The court had previously ordered Kareem Nisbett to show why the action should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to take required steps to move a case forward. The order gave Nisbett until February 10, 2023, to respond. It explained that he could respond by properly filing a motion for default judgment, which asks the court to enter judgment against a party that has not appeared or responded.
Proceedings
On February 10, 2023, Nisbett obtained a Certificate of Default against Bees Lighting. That same day, the court granted him a 30-day extension to contact Bees Lighting or, if those efforts were unsuccessful, file a motion for default judgment. Bees Lighting did not appear or otherwise respond to the complaint, and Nisbett did not take steps to file a motion for default judgment.
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer dismissed the case, without prejudice, for Nisbett’s failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the court’s inherent power. The order did not decide the underlying claims. The clerk was directed to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.