Opinion
2:21-cv-01418-MWF (MAA)
10-14-2021
Floyd Eugene Bender Jr. v. Los Angeles County Sheriff et al.
Present: The Honorable MARIA A. AUDERO, United States Magistrate Judge
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Proceedings (In Chambers): Order to Show Cause Why This Case Should Not Be Dismissed for Want of Prosecution
Plaintiff Floyd Eugene Bender Jr. (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint on February 1, 2021 (ECF No. 1) and a First Amended Complaint (“FAC, ” ECF No. 5) on February 16, 2021.
On March 31, 2021, Plaintiff submitted a Notice of Change of Address (“Notice”), changing his address to what appeared to be a non-prison location. (Notice, ECF No. 16.)
On April 6, 2021, the Court issued a Memorandum Decision and Order Dismissing First Amended Complaint with Leave to Amend (“Order”). (Order, ECF No. 20.) The Court ordered Plaintiff to, no later than May 6, 2021, either file a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) or advise the Court that Plaintiff no longer intends to pursue this lawsuit. (Id. at 1-2, 14.) The Court cautioned Plaintiff that “failure to timely file a SAC will result in a recommendation that this action be dismissed for failure to prosecute and/or failure to comply with court orders pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) .” (Id. at 15.) On April 15, 2021, the Order was returned to the Court as undeliverable by the U.S. postal service. (ECF No. 24.)
On May 7, 2021, in light of the recent returned mail addressed to Plaintiff (ECF Nos. 24, 25-27), the Court confirmed that the address on the docket did not match the address in Plaintiff's Notice (ECF No. 16): Plaintiff's address number was entered as 383 instead of 838. (ECF No. 28.) The Court thereby directed the Clerk to change Plaintiff's address on the docket to match his notice of change of address (ECF No. 16) and to send ECF Nos. 18, 20, 21, and 23 to Plaintiff's corrected address. (ECF No. 28.) The Court also extended Plaintiff's deadline to file a SAC to June 7, 2021. (Id.)
On July 9, 2021, in the absence of a filed SAC, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause (“OSC”), ordering Plaintiff to show cause by August 9, 2021 why the Court should not recommend that the case be dismissed for want of prosecution and failure to comply with Court orders. (OSC, ECF No. 29.) On July 26, 2021, the OSC was returned to the Court as undeliverable by the U.S. postal service, with “no such street” on the envelope. (ECF No. 30.)
On August 23, 2021, in light of the returned OSC addressed to Plaintiff, the Court again reviewed the Notice and noted that it was written with a thick marker and is difficult to read. (ECF No. 18.) Based upon the Notice, Plaintiff's address was updated on the docket with a zip code of 90039. In consideration of the possibility that the zip code was misread, the Court searched the address on Google and found that the zip code for Plaintiff's new address is 90059. The Court directed the Clerk to change Plaintiff's zip code on the docket to 90059, and to send the recent orders, including the Order and OSC, to Plaintiff's corrected address. The Court again sua sponte extended Plaintiff's deadline to file a SAC to September 22, 2021.
To date, Plaintiff has not filed a SAC or a Notice of Dismissal of the action. (A Notice of Dismissal form is attached to this order.) Plaintiff is ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE by November 15, 2021 why the Court should not recommend that the case be dismissed for want of prosecution and for failure to comply with Court orders. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); C.D. Cal. L.R. 41-1. If Plaintiff files a SAC or a Notice of Dismissal on or before that date, this Order to Show Cause will be discharged, and no additional action need be taken.
Plaintiff is advised that failure to comply with this order will result in a recommendation that the lawsuit be dismissed for failure to prosecute and/or comply with court orders. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); C.D. Cal. L.R. 41-1.
It is so ordered.