1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RUTH E. ORTAGA TORRES, No. 2:25-cv-00563-CKD 12 Plaintiff, ORDER and FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS FOR 13 v. FAILURE TO PROSECUTE

14 ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Ruth E. Ortaga Torres is proceeding in this action with counsel.1 On February 18, 18 2025, plaintiff filed her complaint. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff has not taken any further action in this 19 case. See Docket. On October 10, 2025, the Court ordered plaintiff to file a status report within 20 fourteen days updating the Court on the status of the case, and to show cause why the case should 21 not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. (ECF No. 4.) Plaintiff has not responded to the Court’s 22 order, nor taken any action to prosecute this case. 23 I. Legal Standards 24 A district court may impose sanctions, including involuntary dismissal of a plaintiff’s case 25 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), where that plaintiff fails to prosecute his or her 26 case or fails to comply with the court’s orders, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or the court’s 27 1 This action was automatically assigned to the undersigned pursuant to Local Rule Appendix 28 A(m). 1 local rules. See Chambers v. NASCO, Inc.,

(1991) (recognizing that a court “may 2 act sua sponte to dismiss a suit for failure to prosecute”); Hells Canyon Preservation Council v. 3 U.S. Forest Serv.,

(9th Cir. 2005) (approving sua sponte dismissals under Rule 4 41(b)); Ghazali v. Moran,

(9th Cir. 1995) (per curiam) (“Failure to follow a district 5 court’s local rules is a proper ground for dismissal.”); Ferdik v. Bonzelet,

, 1260 6 (9th Cir. 1992), as amended (May 22, 1992) (“Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), 7 the district court may dismiss an action for failure to comply with any order of the court.”); 8 Thompson v. Housing Auth. of City of L.A.,

(9th Cir. 1986) (per curiam) 9 (stating that district courts have inherent power to control their dockets and may impose sanctions 10 including dismissal or default). This Court’s Local Rules are in accord. See E.D. Cal. Local Rule 11 110 (“Failure of counsel or of a party to comply with these Rules or with any order of the Court 12 may be grounds for imposition by the Court of any and all sanctions authorized by statute or Rule 13 or within the inherent power of the Court.”); E.D. Cal. Local Rule 183(a) (providing that a pro se 14 party’s failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court’s Local Rules, and 15 other applicable law may support, among other things, dismissal of that party’s action). 16 A court must weigh five factors in determining whether to dismiss a case for failure to 17 prosecute, failure to comply with a court order, or failure to comply with a District Court’s local 18 rules. See Ferdik,

. These are: 19 (1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its docket; 20 (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and 21 (5) the availability of less drastic alternatives. 22

; accord Pagtalunan v. Galaza,

(9th Cir. 2002). 23 II. Analysis 24 Here, the first two factors weigh in favor of dismissal, because this case was delayed by 25 plaintiff’s failure to take the steps necessary to move this case forward. The third factor also 26 favors dismissal because there is a rebuttable presumption of prejudice to defendant due to 27 plaintiff’s delay. In re Eisen,

(9th Cir. 1994) (“When considering prejudice to 28 the defendant, ‘the failure to prosecute diligently is sufficient by itself to justify a dismissal, even 1 in the absence of a showing of actual prejudice to the defendant from the failure. . . . The law 2 presumes injury from unreasonable delay.’” (alteration in original)). Plaintiff has not taken any 3 action in this case in almost nine months, and has failed to comply and respond to the Court’s 4 attempt to move this action forward. The fifth factor also favors dismissal because the Court has 5 already attempted less drastic alternatives. Specifically, after eight months of no action by 6 plaintiff in this case, the Court attempted lesser sanctions and issued an order to show cause. 7 However, plaintiff has failed to respond, leaving the Court with little alternative but to 8 recommend dismissal. 9 As to the fourth factor, the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits, that 10 factor is outweighed by the other Ferdik factors. Indeed, it is plaintiff’s own failure to prosecute 11 the case and comply with the rules that precludes a resolution on the merits. Therefore, after 12 carefully evaluating the Ferdik factors, the Court concludes that dismissal is appropriate. 13 III. Conclusion 14 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court assign a District 15 Judge to this case. 16 Further, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 17 1. Plaintiff’s claims be DISMISSED without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 18 Procedure 41(b); and 19 2. The Clerk of Court be directed to close this case. 20 These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge 21 assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of

(b)(l). Within fourteen (14) 22 days after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written 23 objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned 24 “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any reply to the objections 25 shall be served on all parties and filed with the court within fourteen (14) days after service of the 26 ///// 27 ///// 28 ///// ] objections. The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may 2 || waive the right to appeal the District Court’s order. Turner v. Duncan,

, 455 (9th Cir. 3 || 1998); Martinez v. YIst,

(9th Cir. 1991).

; Dated: November 5, 2025 Cardp Kt | / a lg. ae 6 CAROLYN K.DELANEY UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 7 5, torr.0563.25 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28