Lester v. Booth ( 2019 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION BUFORD ULE LESTER, JR, : Plaintiff, : vs. : CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:19-cv-93-TFM-N LT. BOOTH, et al., : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER On July 11, 2019, the Magistrate Judge entered a Report and Recommendation (Doc. 8) to which no objections have been filed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) authorizes dismissal of a complaint for failure to prosecute or failure to comply with a court order or the federal rules. Gratton v. Great Am. Commc’ns, 178 F.3d 1373, 1374 (11th Cir. 1999). Further, such a dismissal may be done on motion of the defendant or sua sponte as an inherent power of the court. Betty K Agencies, Ltd. v. M/V Monada, 432 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir. 2005). “[D]ismissal upon disregard of an order, especially where the litigant has been forewarned, generally is not an abuse of discretion.” Vil v. Perimeter Mortg. Funding Corp., 715 F. App’x 912, 915 (quoting Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989)). “[E]ven a non-lawyer should realize the peril to [his] case, when [he] . . . ignores numerous notices” and fails to comply with court orders. Anthony v. Marion Cty. Gen. Hosp., 617 F.2d 1164, 1169 (5th Cir. 1980); see also Moon, 863 F.2d at 837 (As a general rule, where a litigant has been forewarned, dismissal for failure to obey a court order is not an abuse of discretion.). Plaintiff was sufficiently warned that he must pay the remainder of his filing fee and that failure to do so would result in the dismissal of the lawsuit. Therefore, the Court finds it appropriate to exercise its “inherent power” to “dismiss [Plaintiff’s claims] sua sponte for lack of prosecution.” Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630, 82 S. Ct. 1386, 8 L. Ed. 2d 734 (1962). Accordingly, after due and proper consideration of all portions of this file deemed relevant to the issue raised, it is ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED. Plaintiff’s action is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prosecute and obey Court orders under FED. R. CIV. P. 41. Final judgment shall issue separately in accordance with this order and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58. DONE and ORDERED this 12th day of August, 2019. /s/Terry F. Moorer TERRY F. MOORER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE