(PC) Martinez v. Lawhorn ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICARDO MARTINEZ, Case No. 1:21-cv-01602-BAK (PC) 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS ACTION FOR FAILURE TO 13 v. PROSECUTE OR PAY FILING FEE 14 D. LAWHORN, et al., 14-DAY DEADLINE 15 Defendants. Clerk of the Court to Assign a District Judge 16 17 Plaintiff Ricardo Martinez (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil 18 rights action. Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee for this case. Therefore, on November 4, 2021, 19 the Court issued an order directing Plaintiff to pay the filing fee or submit an application to 20 proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) within 45 days. (ECF No. 3.) The order provided that 21 “[f]ailure to comply w[ould] . . . result in dismissal of this action.” (Id. at 1.) Although more than 22 the allowed time has passed, Plaintiff has failed to submit an IFP application or to pay the filing 23 fee. 24 The Local Rules, corresponding with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, provide that 25 “[f]ailure of counsel or of a party to comply with . . . any order of the Court may be grounds for 26 the imposition by the Court of any and all sanctions . . . within the inherent power of the Court.” 27 Local Rule 110. “District courts have inherent power to control their dockets” and, in exercising 1 | City of Los Angeles, 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir. 1986). A court may dismiss an action based on a 2 | party’s failure to prosecute an action, obey a court order, or comply with local rules. See, e.g., 3 | Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992) (dismissal for failure to comply with a 4 | court order to amend a complaint); Malone v. U.S. Postal Service, 833 F.2d 128, 130-31 (9th Cir. 5 1987) (dismissal for failure to comply with a court order); Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 6 | 1424 (9th Cir. 1986) (dismissal for failure to prosecute and to comply with local rules). 7 It appears that Plaintiff has abandoned this action. Whether he has done so mistakenly or 8 | intentionally is inconsequential. It is Plaintiff's responsibility to comply with the Court’s orders. 9 | The Court declines to expend its limited resources on a case that Plaintiff has chosen to ignore. 10 Accordingly, the Court RECOMMENDS that this action be DISMISSED for □□□□□□□□□□ 11 | failure to pay the filing fee, failure to prosecute, and failure to obey a court order. The Court 12 | DIRECTS the Clerk of the Court to assign a district judge to this action. 13 These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to the United States District 14 | Judge assigned to this case, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within 14 days of the date of 15 || service of these Findings and Recommendations, Plaintiff may file written objections with the 16 | Court. The document should be captioned, “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and 17 | Recommendations.” Plaintiff's failure to file objections within the specified time may result in 18 | waiver of his rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing 19 | Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAM Le 22 | Dated: _January 19, 2022 _ Of 33 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 26 27 28