Thurber v. Mock

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

JARED ALLEN THURBER, Plaintiff, v. CASE NO. 25-3048-JWL D. MOCK, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiff Jared Allen Thurber began this pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by filing a complaint and a motion for leave to proceed without prepaying the filing fees. (Docs. 1 and 2.)

Plaintiff’s motion was not on the required form and he failed to submit the required certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement to support his motion, however, so on March 21, 2025, the Court issued a notice of deficiency (NOD) informing Plaintiff that he was required to correct the deficiencies within 30 days. (Doc. 3.) The NOD further advised Plaintiff that if he “fail[ed] to comply within the prescribed time, . . . this action may be dismissed without further notice for failure to comply with this court order.” Id. at 1. The Court mailed the NOD to Plaintiff at his address of record, Wyandotte County Detention Center in Kansas City, Kansas, but the mail was returned to the Court on April 7, 2025. (Doc. 4.) The envelope was marked “Left Facility Return To Sender.” Id. As of the date of this order, the Court has received nothing further from Plaintiff.

The deadline set in the NOD has now passed and Plaintiff has not complied with the NOD, nor has he filed anything further in this matter. Under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a district court may dismiss an action “if the plaintiff fails to prosecute or to comply with these rules or a court order.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); See also Olsen v. Mapes, 333 F.3d 1199, 1204 n.3 (10th Cir. 2003) (noting that Rule 41(b) “has long been interpreted to permit courts to dismiss actions sua sponte for a plaintiff’s failure . . . to comply with the . . . court’s orders”). Because Plaintiff has failed to comply with the NOD and has failed to file anything further in this matter, the Court concludes that this matter should be dismissed without prejudice under Rule 41(b).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT this matter is dismissed without prejudice under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) for failure to comply with a court order. The motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) is therefore denied as moot.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated on this 23rd day of April, 2025, in Kansas City, Kansas. s/ John W. Lungstrum JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM United States District Judge