Opinion
No. 5:17-cv-00175-MTT-CHW
12-13-2017
BERNARD ARNOLD, SR., Plaintiff, v. Warden FREDERICK HEAD, et al., Defendants.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Plaintiff Bernard Arnold, Sr., a prisoner at the Riverbend Correctional Facility in Milledgeville, Georgia, filed this action seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Compl., ECF No. 1. Initially, Plaintiff's motion to proceed in this action in forma pauperis was granted and Plaintiff was ordered to pay an initial partial filing fee of $20.00. Order, Aug. 14, 2017, ECF No. 5. The copy of the Order mailed to Plaintiff at the Riverbend Correctional Facility was subsequently returned to the Court as undeliverable, Mail Returned, Aug. 24, 2017, ECF No. 6, and an inquiry on the Georgia Department of Corrections Offender website indicated that Plaintiff had been transferred to the Wheeler Correctional Facility.
Thereafter, it was ordered that a copy of the docket sheet and the Order returned as undeliverable be forwarded to Plaintiff at the Wheeler Correctional Facility. Order, Oct. 6, 2017, ECF No. 7. Plaintiff was then given twenty-one days to submit the filing fee as previously directed. Id. Plaintiff was also advised that his failure to keep the Court apprised of his current address constitutes a failure to prosecute his claims and could result in the dismissal of his complaint. Id.
Thereafter, Plaintiff did not pay the filing fee or otherwise respond to the Court's orders. Moreover, mail sent to Plaintiff at the Wheeler Correctional Facility was returned to this Court as undeliverable, with an indication that Plaintiff had been discharged from Wheeler Correctional Facility. As a result, Plaintiff was ordered to show cause why this action should not be dismissed for failure to pay the initial filing fee and for failure to keep the Court informed of his current address. Order, Nov. 9, 2017, ECF No. 9. Plaintiff was given twenty-one days to respond to the order and was warned that his failure to respond would result in the dismissal of this case. Id. at 2.
The Georgia Department of Corrections website still lists Plaintiff as being incarcerated in the Wheeler Correctional Facility. See Georgia Dep't of Corrs., Find an Offender, http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/GDC/Offender/Query, Query "Arnold, Bernard" (showing most recent institution as Wheeler Correctional Facility) (last visited December 11, 2017). --------
To date, Plaintiff has not responded to the show cause order and mail sent to Plaintiff at the Wheeler Correctional Facility has been returned to the Court as undeliverable, again with a notation that Plaintiff has been discharged from that facility. Mail Returned, Nov. 21, 2017, ECF No. 10. As noted in the Order to Show Cause, Plaintiff's failure to notify the Clerk of Court of a change in address constitutes a failure to prosecute his claims, and insofar as this Court has no information regarding Plaintiff's current whereabouts, this action cannot proceed.
Thus, because Plaintiff has failed to respond to the Court's orders or otherwise prosecute his case, his complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); Brown v Tallahassee Police Dep't, 205 F. App'x 802, 802 (11th Cir. 2006) (per curiam) ("The court may dismiss an action sua sponte under rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute or failure to obey a court order.") (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) and Lopez v. Aransas Cty. Indep. Sch. Dist., 570 F.2d 541, 544 (5th Cir. 1978)).
SO ORDERED, this 13th day of December, 2017.
S/ Marc T. Treadwell
MARC T. TREADWELL, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT