Opinion
CIVIL ACTION 16-0457-CG-C
10-07-2016
DARIUS G. HICKS, Plaintiff, v. MICHEAL STRICKLAND, et al., Defendants.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
This action was filed by an Alabama state inmate and has been referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and General L.R. 72(b) for appropriate action. It is recommended that this action be dismissed without prejudice for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute and to comply with the Court's order.
The Court reviewed Plaintiff's complaint and Affidavit in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Docs. 1, 2) and found that they were not filed on this Court's forms. On August 31, 2016, the Court ordered Plaintiff by September 21, 2016, to complete and file this Court's forms for a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and for a motion to proceed without prepayment of fees. Plaintiff was warned that his failure to timely comply with the order within the prescribed time would result in the dismissal of his action. To date, the Court's order dated August 31, 2016 (Doc. 3), has not been returned to the Court, nor has the Plaintiff responded in any other manner to the Court's order.
On September 30, 2016, the Court visited the Alabama Department of Corrections website and discovered that Plaintiff is presently incarcerated in the Bibb Correctional Facility. Plaintiff was also warned in the Court's August 31, 2016 order that failure to notify the Court immediately of a change of address would result in the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute and to obey the Court's order.
Due to Plaintiff's failure to comply with the Court's order and to prosecute this action, and upon consideration of the alternatives that are available to the Court, it is recommended that this action be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as no other lesser sanction will suffice. Link v. Wabash R.R., 370 U.S. 626, 630-31, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 1389 (1962) ("The authority of a court to dismiss sua sponte for lack of prosecution has generally been considered an 'inherent power' governed not by rule or statute but by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to achieved the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases."); Zocaras v. Castro, 465 F.3d 479, 483 (11 Cir. 2006) (recognizing a district court's inherent power to enforce orders and provide for the efficient disposition of litigation); Wilson v. Sargent, 313 F.3d 1315, 1331-32 & n.7 (11 Cir. 2002) (holding that a prisoner's failure to pay the partial filing fee under § 1915 is a basis for dismissal); see generally Betty K Agencies, Ltd. V. M/V Monada, 432 F.3d 1333, 1337-38 (11 Cir. 2005) (discussing dismissals pursuant to the court's inherent power and dismissals based on Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and concluding that only a dismissal with prejudice requires findings of contumacious conduct and that lesser sanctions will not suffice).
The Clerk is DIRECTED to send a copy of the Report and Recommendation to Plaintiff at his new address and to correct the Court's docket to reflect Plaintiff's new address.
Notice of Right to File Objections
A copy of this Report and Recommendation shall be served on all parties in the manner provided by law. Any party who objects to this recommendation or anything in it must, within fourteen (14) days of the date of service of this document, file specific written objections with the Clerk of this Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); FED. R. CIV. P. 72(b); S.D. Ala. GenLR 72(c)(1) & (2). The parties should note that under Eleventh Circuit Rule 3-1, "[a] party failing to object to a magistrate judge's findings or recommendations contained in a report and recommendation in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) waives the right to challenge on appeal the district court's order based on unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions if the party was informed of the time period for objecting and the consequences on appeal for failing to object. In the absence of a proper objection, however, the court may review on appeal for plain error if necessary in the interests of justice." 11 Cir. R. 3-1. In order to be specific, an objection must identify the specific finding or recommendation to which objection is made, state the basis for the objection, and specify the place in the Magistrate Judge's report and recommendation where the disputed determination is found. An objection that merely incorporates by reference or refers to the briefing before the Magistrate Judge is not specific.
DONE this 7th day of October, 2016.
s/WILLIAM E. CASSADY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE