Unbeatablesale.com, Inc. v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
Unbeatablesale.com, Inc. v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
Trial Court Opinion
1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 UNBEATABLESALE.COM, INC., Case No. 3:23-cv-03719-JD
8 Plaintiff, ORDER RE MOTION TO DISMISS 9 v. AND TO SHOW CAUSE
10 META PLATFORMS INC., Defendant. 11
12 13 Plaintiff UnbeatableSale.com, Inc. (UBS) originally sued defendant Meta Platforms Inc. 14 (Meta) in the District of New Jersey for a single claim of breach of contract in connection with the 15 removal of UBS’s posted content. Dkt. No. 1. In July 2023, the New Jersey court transferred the 16 case to this Court on the basis of a contractual forum selection clause. Dkt. No. 30. 17 Since the arrival of the case here, UBS has done nothing to prosecute this action. UBS’s 18 lawyer in New Jersey did not file an application to appear pro hac vice in this District, and no 19 other lawyer has made an appearance. As a result, there does not appear to be a lawyer 20 representing UBS who is admitted to practice in this District. UBS did not oppose or otherwise 21 respond in any way to a motion to dismiss that Meta filed in August 2023, Dkt. No. 41, even 22 though Meta requested, and the Court granted, an extension of time for UBS to respond, Dkt. Nos. 23 42, 43. In October 2023, Meta filed a request for a stay on the grounds that the parties had 24 “agreed in principle to discontinue litigating” and were discussing a settlement. Dkt. No. 46. The 25 Court vacated a case management conference based on these representations, but declined to enter 26 a stay until a formal notice of settlement was filed. Dkt. No. 47. A notice of settlement has not 27 been filed, and Meta asked in December 2023 to vacate another case management conference, and 1 No. 49. 2 Overall, UBS has given every indication that it has abandoned this case and does not 3 intend to prosecute it. With respect to the motion to dismiss, the docket indicates that UBS and its 4 attorney in New Jersey knew about the motion, and discussed an extension of time to respond with 5 || Meta. Even so, UBS and its lawyer never responded or said a word to the Court in opposition to 6 || the motion. Consequently, the complaint is dismissed. See Calip v. Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 14-CV- 7 |} 02047-JD,
2014 WL 3421147, at *2 (N.D. Cal. July 14, 2014). 8 Looking at the case as a whole, UBS’s complete inaction amply justifies termination of 9 || this action for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). There is no place 10 || inthe heavy case load each judge in this District carries for no-show litigants like UBS, who make 11 no effort whatsoever to litigate their claims in a fair and efficient manner. UBS and its attorney 12 || have imposed undue burdens on Meta and the Court, and aggravated a bad situation by not 5 13 communicating at all with the Court about this case. 14 Even so, the Court will allow UBS an opportunity to show cause in writing why the case 3 15 should not be dismissed in its entirety. Attorney Todd Schwartz, who is listed as counsel of record 16 || here for UBS and is its attorney in New Jersey, is responsible for communicating with UBS about 3 17 this order. A response consistent with this order must be filed by January 19, 2024. A failure to 18 || respond will result in a dismissal of the case under Rule 41(b). UBS is advised that an excuse 19 || based on needing time to find local counsel in the District will likely be inadequate to avoid 20 || dismissal. UBS has had more than enough time to hire a lawyer authorized to practice here. 21 Depending on the content of the response, the Court reserves a final order on whether the 22 || dismissal of the complaint will be with leave to amend. 23 IT IS SO ORDERED. 24 || Dated: January 9, 2024 25 26 JAMES/PONATO 27 United Btates District Judge 28
Reference
- Status
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