Opinion
Case No. 08-CV-1087.
July 10, 2009
ORDER
On December 11, 2008, plaintiffs filed a complaint against the named defendants alleging that defendants failed to make timely payments on behalf of their employees covered by one or more collective bargaining agreements, and that defendants failed to accurately report employee work status to plaintiffs. A summons for each defendant was returned executed by plaintiffs on December 31, 2008. (Docket ##'s 4-5). According to these summonses, defendants were served on December 19, 2008. As such, defendants' responsive pleadings were due on January 8, 2009. However, defendants have not filed pleadings responsive to the complaint, and no other filing has been made by either party.
Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 41.2, in all cases in which a defendant has failed to file an answer or otherwise defend within six months from the filing of the complaint and the plaintiff has not moved for a default judgment, the court may, on its own motion, after 20 days' notice to the attorney of record for the plaintiff, enter an order dismissing the action for lack of prosecution. See Civil L.R. 41.2. More than six months have passed since plaintiffs filed their complaint and defendants have not filed responses to the complaint. Nor have plaintiffs moved for a default judgment. Therefore, the court concludes that plaintiffs are not diligently prosecuting this action. Accordingly, the court grants plaintiffs 20 days to file a motion for default judgment.
If defendants do not file responses to plaintiffs' complaint, and plaintiffs fail to file a motion for default judgment within 20 days from the date of this order, the court will dismiss this action without prejudice pursuant to Civil Local Rule 41.2. The court notes that under Civil Local Rule 41.2, any affected party can petition for reinstatement of this action within 20 days from the date of the dismissal.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs shall have twenty (20) days from the date of this order to move for default judgment if no responses are filed by defendants; if no responses are filed by defendants and plaintiffs fail to file a motion for default judgment within twenty (20) days of the date of this order, the court will dismiss this action without prejudice.