Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Civil Procedure – sanctions — dismissal

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 10, 2013//

Civil Procedure – sanctions — dismissal

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 10, 2013//

Listen to this article

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Civil Procedure – sanctions — dismissal

It was an abuse of discretion for the district court to dismiss a case merely because the plaintiff failed to attend one status conference.

“The judge may have understood Ball and its successors as holding no more than that a warning must precede a dismissal for want of prosecution. The judge gave such a warning. But Ball and our later decisions hold more than that. They stand for the proposition that the punishment must fit the crime. See, e.g., FM Industries, 614 F.3d at 338–39. A conclusion that dismissal is necessary because other remedies have failed (or are bound to fail) receives deferential appellate review. But a district court that dismisses a suit immediately after the first problem, without exploring other options or saying why they would not be fruitful, commits a legal error. This suit must be reinstated.”

Reversed and Remanded.

12-3588 & 12-3906 Johnson v. Chicago Board of Education

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Kennelly, J., Per Curiam.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests