Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:14-CV-333
10-24-2017
WILLIAM DEXTER WHITE, Plaintiff, v. CEILAI OKEYE, et al., Defendants.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The plaintiff, William Dexter White, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas, and Judge Mitchell, after the case had dragged on for nearly ten years, severed a number of claims against a host of defendants and transferred them here (Dkt. 1). White's original complaint was 200 pages long and very difficult to decipher, so Judge Hoyt ordered him to file an amended complaint complying with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) (Dkt. 13). White filed an amended complaint that was shorter but still, including attachments, totaled 100 pages (Dkt. 19). The amended complaint is scarcely more compliant with Rule 8 than the original was: it names at least 20 defendants and sues various combinations of them for a variety of evidently unrelated incidents under a number of different theories. Moreover, White has never either paid the filing fee or requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and he has not contacted the Court in any way since filing his amended complaint.
A court may dismiss an action sua sponte for failure to prosecute or for failure to comply with any court order. Larson v. Scott, 157 F.3d 1030, 1031-32 (5th Cir. 1998). "This authority flows from the Court's inherent power to control its docket and prevent undue delays in the disposition of pending cases." Boudwin v. Graystone Ins. Co., Ltd., 756 F.2d 399, 401 (5th Cir. 1985) (citing Link v. Wabash Railroad Co., 370 U.S. 626 (1962)). White has not complied with the Court's order to provide a short and plain statement of a claim showing that he is entitled to relief, and he has not shown any desire to continue pursuing this case.
Based on the foregoing, the Court ORDERS as follows:
1. This case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for failure to prosecute and for failure to comply with the Court's order requiring the plaintiff to provide a short and plain statement of a claim showing that he is entitled to relief.
2. Any pending motions are DENIED as moot.
The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this order to the parties.
SIGNED at Galveston, Texas on October 24, 2017.
/s/_________
GEORGE C. HANKS, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE