Cook v. Rodney L. Robinson

• Court: District Court, N.D. Indiana
• Decided: April 4, 2025
• Docket: 1:23-cv-00410
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION

JOSHUA COOK,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 1:23-CV-410-CCB-SLC

RODNEY L. ROBINSON, et al.,

Defendants.

ORDER This matter is before the Court following Magistrate Judge Susan Collins’s report and recommendation (ECF 26). Judge Collins recommended that the court dismiss Joshua Cook’s case with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f)(1) and 41(b) and the Court’s inherent power to manage its own affairs as a result of Cook’s failure to attend a hearing, a status conference, and a show-cause hearing and status conference, or to otherwise prosecute his case. (ECF 26 at 5). Judge Collins’s report and recommendation was mailed to Cook at the address he provided to the Court, but it was returned as undeliverable and marked “Return to Sender,” “Moved Left No Address,” and “Unable to Forward” on August 6, 2024. (ECF 28). To date, Cook has not updated his address1 or otherwise made efforts to prosecute

1 Litigants “bear the burden of filing notice of a change of address in such a way that will bring the attention of the court to the address change.” Snyder v. Nolen, 380 F.3d 279, 285 (7th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation omitted). As courts routinely observe, “[t]he demand that plaintiffs provide contact information is no esoteric rule of civil procedure, but rather the obvious minimal requirement for pursuing a lawsuit.” Tylicki v. Ryan, 244 F.R.D. 146, 147 (N.D.N.Y. 2006). his case. Moreover, no objections were filed by the August 9, 2024, deadline or in the months since that deadline passed. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b).

With no objection to the well-reasoned report and recommendation, the Court ADOPTS the report in its entirety and incorporates Magistrate Judge Susan Collins’s recommendations into this order. The Court DISMISSES this case WITH PREJUDICE for lack of prosecution and failure to appear for court-ordered proceedings. SO ORDERED on April 4, 2025.

/s/Cristal C. Brisco CRISTAL C. BRISCO, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT