Megan Reeves v. City of Palm Springs

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: February 26, 2023
• Docket: 5:22-cv-01910
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

Case 5:22-cv-01910-SB-MRW Document 21 Filed 02/26/23 Page 1 of 5 Page ID #:136

1 JS-6 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 Case No. ED CV 22-1910 SB (MRW) 13 MEGAN REEVES, ORDER DISMISSING ACTION 14 Plaintiff, 15 v. FRCP 41 16 RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, 17 et al., 18 Defendants. 19 20 The Court dismisses this action due to Plaintiff’s failure to respond to 21 the defense’s dismissal motions and court orders. 22 * * * 23 1. This is a pro se civil action. Plaintiff’s original complaints1 24 alleged that law enforcement personnel killed Plaintiff’s domestic partner 25 after a car chase. (Docket # 1.) 26 27 1 Plaintiff filed two nearly identical actions against numerous local law enforcement agencies and municipalities. The Court consolidated the 28 actions pursuant to Rule 42(a)(2). (Docket # 9.) Case 5:22-cv-01910-SB-MRW Document 21 Filed 02/26/23 Page 2 of 5 Page ID #:137

1 2. Two of the municipal defendants (Cities of Beaumont and Palm 2 Springs) moved to dismiss the action on various grounds. (Docket # 10, 16.) 3 The motions also stated that Plaintiff failed to participate in prefiling 4 meet-and-confer discussions with defense counsel as required under Local 5 Rule 7. 6 3. Magistrate Judge Wilner ordered Plaintiff to respond to the 7 dismissal motions by specific deadlines. (Docket # 11, 17.) Judge Wilner 8 also required Plaintiff to explain her lack of cooperation in the prefiling 9 process. Judge Wilner’s orders expressly advised Plaintiff that her failure 10 to respond to the motions would lead the Court to dismiss the action under 11 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41. (Id. (citing Applied Underwriters, Inc. 12 v. Lichtenegger, 913 F.3d 884, 892 (9th Cir. 2019)).) 13 4. Plaintiff failed to respond to either dismissal motion. 14 5. Judge Wilner vacated the hearing on the motion. (Docket 15 # 19.) As a “further accommodation to a self-represented litigant,” 16 Judge Wilner gave Plaintiff a final opportunity to show cause why the 17 action should not be dismissed due to Plaintiff’s inaction. Plaintiff failed to 18 file anything in response to that OSC. (Docket # 20 (defense statement of 19 non-compliance).) 20 6. Other than her original complaints and her IFP 21 documentation, Plaintiff has failed to file anything else with the Court 22 since the commencement of this civil action.2 23 * * * 24 2 Plaintiff applied for and received in forma pauperis status from the 25 Court in November 2022. (Docket # 3, 7, 8.) As a result, she was entitled to have the U.S. Marshals serve process on the defense. 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Magistrate 26 Judge Wilner issued an order noting that Plaintiff appeared to have served the complaint herself on some (but not all) of the parties. (Docket # 9.) 27 Judge Wilner’s order required Plaintiff to submit a declaration explaining the status of service and to file proofs of past service. Plaintiff did not file anything 28 in response to this order. 2 Case 5:22-cv-01910-SB-MRW Document 21 Filed 02/26/23 Page 3 of 5 Page ID #:138

1 7. Local Rule 7-9 requires a party to file a memorandum stating 2 the basis for that party’s opposition to a motion. Local Rule 7-12 states 3 that the “failure to file any required document [ ] may be deemed consent to 4 the granting or denial of the motion.” 5 8. Rule 41(b) provides that if a plaintiff “fails to prosecute or to 6 comply with these rules or a court order, a defendant may move to dismiss 7 the action or any claim against it.” Dismissal also may be ordered by the 8 Court sua sponte. Link v. Wabash R.R., 370 U.S. 626, 629-30 (1962). 9 9. Rule 41(b) specifically authorizes a court to dismiss a civil 10 action when a plaintiff has not filed a required pleading “after being given 11 leave to do so and has not notified the court of his intention not to file” that 12 document. Harris v. Magnum, 863 F.3d 1133, 1142 (9th Cir. 2017). 13 Rule 41(b) applies when a court “mandate[s] the filing” of a pleading and 14 “indicate[s] that failure to do so would result in dismissal” under the rule. 15 Applied Underwriters, Inc. v. Lichtenegger, 913 F.3d 884, 892 (9th Cir. 16 2019). 17 10. Dismissal of a civil action under Rule 41 may be appropriate to 18 advance the public’s interest in the expeditious resolution of litigation, the 19 court’s need to manage its docket, and to avoid the risk of prejudice to 20 defendants. Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F. 3d 1081, 1084 (9th Cir. 2010). 21 Additionally, a court should consider the public policy favoring disposition 22 of cases on their merits and the availability of less drastic alternatives in 23 its evaluation. Carey v. King, 856 F.2d 1439, 1440 (9th Cir. 1988). 24 * * * 25 11. In the present action, the Court concludes that dismissal of the 26 action is appropriate. Plaintiff failed to respond to either dismissal motion 27 from the Cities of Beaumont and Palm Springs. She also failed to comply 28 3 Case 5:22-cv-01910-SB-MRW Document 21 Filed 02/26/23 Page 4 of 5 Page ID #:139

1 with the Local Rule 7 obligation to discuss the motions before the defense 2 filed them. Plaintiff’s failure to file any response (despite explanatory 3 advisements from the magistrate judge) means that the motions are 4 deemed unopposed under Local Rule 7-12. Defendants are entitled to the 5 relief requested in those motions to dismiss the action. 6 12. Further, Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Court’s case 7 management orders and Judge Wilner’s OSC also warrants dismissal 8 under Rule 41. Plaintiff’s silence in the face of so many court orders 9 demonstrates that she has no interest in advancing the action here. 10 13. By contrast, the Court, the defense, and the public have a 11 strong interest in terminating this action. This is particularly true given 12 that Plaintiff seemingly chose to abandon her case by failing to respond to 13 basic motions and orders. The public and the defense has an interest in 14 the expeditious resolution of this action, and the Court has a need to 15 manage its voluminous docket. Plaintiff’s failure to participate in this 16 lawsuit after filing it has frustrated these interests; and her failure has 17 increased the costs of this litigation and risks further prejudice to the 18 defense. Furthermore, because Plaintiff is a pro se litigant who did not 19 abide with the magistrate judges’ previous orders, no sanction short of 20 dismissal will be effective in moving this case forward. Carey, 856 F.2d 21 at 1440. The Court concludes that dismissal is appropriate under 22 Rule 41(b). Applied Underwriters, 913 F.3d at 892.

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1 14. Dismissal under Rule 41(b) ordinarily “operates as an 2 | adjudication on the merits” of a claim and is otherwise appropriate 3 | here. Therefore, the present action is DISMISSED with prejudice 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 | Dated: February 26, 2023 0S 8 STANLEY BLUMENFELD, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 10 Presented by: 11 tM Ly 13 J 4X HON. MICHAEL R. WILNER 14 | UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28