Stone v. Sheridan

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WO JL
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Jade Stone,
Plaintiff,
v.
Jerry Sheridan, et al.,
Defendants.
No. CV-25-04656-PHX-MTL (MTM)
ORDER
On December 12, 2025, Plaintiff Jade Stone, who was then confined in a Maricopa
County Jail, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and an
Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 2). On January 16, 2026, Plaintiff filed
her First Amended Complaint (Doc. 5) and another Application to Proceed In Forma
Pauperis (Doc. 6). The Court will deny the Applications to Proceed as moot and dismiss
the First Amended Complaint and this action for failure to prosecute.
According to the docket in Plaintiff’s criminal case in Arizona Superior Court,
Maricopa County, she was released from custody on January 22, 2026.* Plaintiff has not
filed a Notice of Change of Address or otherwise notified the Court of her whereabouts.
Rule 3.4 of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure requires an incarcerated litigant to
comply with the instructions attached to the court-approved Complaint form. Those
instructions state: “You must immediately notify the clerk . . . in writing of any change in
your mailing address. Failure to notify the court of any change in your mailing address
* See https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/
caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CR2025-000787 [https://perma.cc/6Z7F-FP2G]
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may result in the dismissal of your case.” (Information and Instructions for a Prisoner
Filing Civil Rights Complaint at 2). In addition, Local Rule of Civil Procedure 83.3(d)
requires an unrepresented incarcerated party to submit a notice of change of address within
seven days after a change of address.
Plaintiff has a general duty to prosecute this case. Fid. Phila. Tr. Co. v. Pioche
Mines Consol., Inc., 587 F.2d 27, 29 (9th Cir. 1978). In this regard, it is the duty of a
plaintiff who has filed a pro se action to keep the Court apprised of her current address and
to comply with the Court’s orders in a timely fashion. This Court does not have an
affirmative obligation to locate Plaintiff. “A party, not the district court, bears the burden
of keeping the court apprised of any changes in h[er] mailing address.” Carey v. King, 856
F.2d 1439, 1441 (9th Cir. 1988). Plaintiff’s failure to keep the Court informed of her new
address constitutes a failure to prosecute.
Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[f]or failure of the
plaintiff to prosecute or to comply with these rules or any order of court, a defendant may
move for dismissal of an action.” In Link v. Wabash Railroad Co., 370 U.S. 626, 629-31
(1962), the Supreme Court recognized that a federal district court has the inherent power
to dismiss a case sua sponte for failure to prosecute, even though the language of Rule
41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure appears to require a motion from a party.
Moreover, in appropriate circumstances, the Court may dismiss a complaint for failure to
prosecute even without notice or hearing. Id. at 633.
In determining whether Plaintiff’s failure to prosecute warrants dismissal of the
case, the Court must weigh the following five factors: “(1) the public’s interest in
expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its docket; (3) the risk
of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their
merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions.” Carey, 856 F.2d at 1440 (quoting
Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986)). “The first two of these factors
favor the imposition of sanctions in most cases, while the fourth factor cuts against a default
or dismissal sanction. Thus, the key factors are prejudice and availability of lesser
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sanctions.” Wanderer v. Johnston, 910 F.2d 652, 656 (9th Cir. 1990).
The first, second, and third factors favor dismissal of this case. Plaintiff’s failure to
keep the Court informed of her address prevents the case from proceeding in the
foreseeable future. The fourth factor, as always, weighs against dismissal. The fifth factor
requires the Court to consider whether a less drastic alternative is available. Without
Plaintiff’s current address, however, certain alternatives are bound to be futile. Here, as in
Carey, “[a]n order to show cause why dismissal is not warranted . . . would only find itself
taking a round trip tour through the United States mail.” 856 F.2d at 1441.
The Court finds that only one less drastic sanction is realistically available. Rule
41(b) provides that a dismissal for failure to prosecute operates as an adjudication upon the
merits “[u]nless the court in its order for dismissal otherwise specifies.” In the instant case,
the Court finds that a dismissal with prejudice would be unnecessarily harsh. The Court
will therefore dismiss the Complaint and this action without prejudice pursuant to Rule
41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s Application
to Proceed In Forma Pauperis as moot.
IT IS ORDERED:
(1) The First Amended Complaint (Doc. 5) and this action are dismissed
without prejudice for failure to prosecute pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure. The Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly and close this case.
(2) Plaintiff’s Applications to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Docs. 2, 6) are denied
as moot.
(3) The docket shall reflect that the Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(a)(3), that any appeal of this decision would not be taken in good faith.
Dated this 9th day of March, 2026.
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