Adegbuji v. Middlesex County

347 F. App'x 877
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedOctober 9, 2009
DocketNo. 08-2190
StatusPublished

This text of 347 F. App'x 877 (Adegbuji v. Middlesex County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adegbuji v. Middlesex County, 347 F. App'x 877 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Tosin Adegbuji, proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights lawsuit against various corrections and medical defendants affiliated with the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center (“MCACC”) in April 2003. The complaint was based on events occurring at MCACC while Appellant was being held there as an Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) detainee.1 While the underlying proceedings were pending, Appellant was granted withholding of removal to Nigeria but denied asylum. He was subsequently removed to the United Kingdom, where he remains today. In an opinion and order dated September 28, 2006, 2006 WL 2806289, the District Court entered summary judgment in favor of all defendants on all causes of action except: (1) against Defendants Johnson and Botnick, on the charge that they used excessive force in restraining Appellant while locking him in his cell, and (2) against Defendant LaSalla on the charge that he retaliated against Appellant and violated his procedural due process rights. [879]*879The Court then set a trial date of December 5, 2006 for all remaining issues.

On November 20, 2006, Appellant filed a motion in the District Court requesting a “90-day extension of time within which to begin the trial” due to his inability to enter the country without prior permission from the Department of Homeland Security. Appellant alleged that his application for permission to temporarily enter the United States had been filed on November 5, 2006 and that he had been appointed counsel in connection with his appeal of the INS’s removal order and was awaiting a date for oral argument before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In the alternative, Appellant requested that the Court appoint counsel to represent him at trial. On November 27, 2006, the District Court denied Appellant’s requests for a continuance of the trial date and for the appointment of counsel. Noting Appellant’s failure to request permission to enter the United States until November 5, despite the Court’s having informed the parties of the trial date on September 28, the Court held that Appellant had not acted diligently in filing his request. On December 8, 2006, with Appellant having failed to appear for trial, the Court dismissed the action with prejudice and without costs.

On December 21, 2006, Appellant filed a motion for reconsideration of the dismissal of the action based on his failure to appear at trial. In his motion, he explained that he mailed his application for permission to re-enter the United States on October 4, 2006, three days after receiving notice of the trial date, and that it was received the following day, but was not filed until November 5, 2006. He further represented that he was informed by DHS that his application would require a minimum of 90 days from the filing date for processing. Based on the foregoing, Appellant argued that he had exercised diligence in seeking permission to re-enter.

On February 15, 2007, the District Court granted Appellant’s motion, and rescheduled the trial for March 12, 2007.2 On March 7, two weeks before the trial was set to begin, Appellant informed the Court that he had not yet received a response to his DHS application, detailed his efforts to obtain further information about his status, and requested a second adjournment. The court issued a one-sentence order denying his request. On March 21, 2007, with Appellant and counsel for Appellees all appearing telephonically, the Court denied Appellant’s requests: (i) for a bench trial, (ii) to conduct the trial telephonically, and (iii) for a continuance. After hearing briefly from each of the parties, the Court made the following findings on the record with respect to Appellant’s request for a continuance:

The last thing we have here is whether or not, this is what Mr. Adegbuji is requesting, another extension of time, [sic] Basically to be permitted upon the facts that he’s trying to work through the Attorney General or the Department of Homeland Security in order to secure some type of permission to re-enter the country. Evidently Mr. Adegbuji had been deported some time ago. He’s not authorized to enter the United States at this time. He has obviously made some efforts but in November he had represented to this Court he thought it would take 90 days. We’ve now waited five months. As far as I can tell we’re no farther [sic] along the process than we were five months ago. It’s speculative at best to think that either the Attorney General or the Department of Homeland [880]*880Security will permit his re-entry into the United States. This case is four years old. I think it was instituted in April of 2003. So, it’s one of the oldest cases on the docket.
The Court is mindful that Mr. Adegbuji is not the only person that is part of this case. There are officers, there’s [sic] municipalities. Fairness to them requires that I bring a conclusion to this matter. Mr. Adegbuji has had ample opportunity to be here and to be present. He’s unable to do that. Although it may be for reasons out of his control, certainly the defendants in this case also have a right to fairness and fairness in this instance dictates that the case be dismissed at the present time with prejudice. I note that, I guess the rules would provide that lack of prosecution by the plaintiff would permit such dismissal.
So, relying upon those rules, Mr. Adegbuji’s failure to appear for trial twice now, warrants dismissal with prejudice.

(Supplemental App. 216.)

The District Court entered judgment against Appellant on March 28, 2007. Appellant appealed, maintaining that the Court erred in dismissing the action with prejudice rather than staying it pending his receipt of a response from DHS. On September 7, 2007, after receiving responses from the parties, we entered an order summarily vacating the District Court’s judgment and remanding the matter for explicit consideration of the of the factors delineated in Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 747 F.2d 863, 868 (3d Cir.1984), which we have required district courts to consider in connection with the entry of involuntary dismissal of a plaintiffs action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Upon receipt of our order, the District Court ordered briefing on the Poulis issue. On January 7, 2008, the Court entered an order dismissing Appellant’s case with prejudice for the reasons set forth in the record.

On May 16, 2008, a transcript was entered onto the District Court docket reflecting the District Court’s January 7, 2008 oral findings on the Poulis factors:

(1) the extent of the party’s personal responsibility; (2) the prejudice to the adversary caused by the failure to meet scheduling orders and respond to discovery; (3) a history of dilatoriness; (4) whether the conduct of the party or the attorney was willful or in bad faith; (5) the effectiveness of sanctions other than dismissal, which entails an analysis of alternative sanctions; and (6) the meritoriousness of the claim or defense.

Poulis, 747 F.2d at 867 (emphasis in original).

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Bluebook (online)
347 F. App'x 877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adegbuji-v-middlesex-county-ca3-2009.