Richard Wood v. S. Salmonson, et al.

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: October 10, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-02098
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICHARD WOOD, Case No. 2:25-cv-2098-JDP (P)

12 Plaintiff, ORDER; FINDINGS AND 13 v. RECOMMENDATIONS 14 S. SALMONSON, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 On August 6, 2025, I ordered plaintiff to submit either a completed in forma pauperis 18 application or pay the required filing fee within thirty days. ECF No. 4. Plaintiff has failed to 19 comply with that order and the order was returned to the court as undeliverable. Accordingly, 20 dismissal of the action is warranted. 21 The court has the inherent power to control its docket and may, in the exercise of that 22 power, impose sanctions where appropriate, including dismissal. Bautista v. Los Angeles Cnty., 23 216 F.3d 837, 841 (9th Cir. 2000); see Local Rule 110 (“Failure of counsel or of a party to 24 comply with these Rules or with any order of the Court may be grounds for imposition by the 25 Court of any and all sanctions . . . within the inherent power of the Court.”). 26 A court may dismiss an action based on a party’s failure to prosecute an action, failure to 27 obey a court order, or failure to comply with local rules. See Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53-54 28 (9th Cir. 1995) (dismissal for noncompliance with local rule); Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992) (dismissal for failure to comply with an order to file an amended 2 complaint); Carey v. King, 856 F.2d 1439, 1440-41 (9th Cir. 1988) (dismissal for failure to 3 comply with local rule requiring pro se plaintiffs to keep court apprised of address); Malone v. 4 U.S. Postal Serv., 833 F.2d 128, 130 (9th Cir. 1987) (dismissal for failure to comply with court 5 order); Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1424 (9th Cir. 1986) (dismissal for lack of 6 prosecution and failure to comply with local rules). 7 In recommending that this action be dismissed for failure to comply with court orders, I 8 have considered “(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s 9 need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy 10 favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic alternatives.” 11 Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1260-61 (citation omitted). 12 Here, plaintiff has failed to respond to a court order directing him to file either a 13 completed in forma pauperis application or pay the required filing fee. See ECF No. 4. 14 Therefore, the public interest in expeditious resolution of litigation, the court’s need to manage its 15 docket, and the risk of prejudice to the defendants all support imposition of the sanction of 16 dismissal. Lastly, my warning to plaintiff that failure to obey court orders will result in dismissal 17 satisfies the “considerations of the alternatives” requirement. Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262; Malone, 18 833 at 132-33; Henderson, 779 F.2d at 1424. The August 6 order expressly warned plaintiff that 19 his failure to comply with court orders would result in recommendation that this action be 20 dismissed. See ECF No. 4. Plaintiff has had adequate warning that dismissal could result from 21 his noncompliance. Accordingly, I find that the balance of factors weighs in favor of dismissal. 22 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the Clerk of Court assign a district judge to this 23 action. 24 Further, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that: 25 1. This action be dismissed without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee, to 26 prosecute, and to comply with court orders for the reasons set forth in the August 6, 2025 order. 27 2. Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF No. 3, be denied as moot. 28 3. The Clerk of Court be directed to close the case. 1 These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge 2 | assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within fourteen days of 3 | service of these findings and recommendations, any party may file written objections with the 4 | court and serve a copy on all parties. Any such document should be captioned “Objections to 5 | Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations,” and any response shall be served and filed 6 | within fourteen days of service of the objections. The parties are advised that failure to file 7 | objections within the specified time may waive the right to appeal the District Court’s order. See 8 || Turner v. Duncan, 158 F.3d 449, 455 (9th Cir. 1998); Martinez v. Yist, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 9 | 1991). 10 Wl IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: _ October 10, 2025 Q_——. 13 JEREMY D. PETERSON 4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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