Discrimination – Dismissal for Want of Prosecution

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Fred Cartwright v. Silver Cross Hospital and Crothall Healthcare, Inc.,

Case No.: 19-2595

Officials: MANION, SYKES, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Discrimination – Dismissal for Want of Prosecution

Fred Cartwright sued his former employer asserting claims of discrimination based on his race, sex, and age. Throughout four years of litigation, he repeatedly failed to appear for his deposition, missed a status hearing, would not follow the local rules regarding motion practice, refused to respond to discovery despite repeated orders to do so, and ignored the judge’s multiple warnings that his conduct would lead to dismissal of the suit. Despite this obstructive behavior, the judge continued to recruit a succession of pro bono attorneys to assist Cartwright, each of whom invested many hours of valuable time in the case before moving to withdraw because the client would not cooperate. After permitting the fourth—yes, fourth—volunteer lawyer to withdraw, the judge finally dismissed the case as a sanction for want of prosecution.

We affirm the dismissal and take this opportunity to remind judges that they need not and should not recruit volunteer lawyers for civil claimants who won’t cooperate with the basic requirements of litigation. Pro bono representation of indigent civil litigants is a venerable tradition in the legal profession. The courts must be careful stewards of this limited resource.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.