Smith v. Stenseth et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Carl Douglas Smith,
Plaintiff,
v.
Lisa Stenseth, Victor Wanchena, Ashlee
Berts, Joshua Barnes, Branden Tatum,
John Doe, and Jane Doe,
Defendants.
Case No. 26-cv-0499 (LMP/DLM)
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
On January 29, 2026, this Court entered an order requiring Plaintiff Carl Douglas
Smith to pay an initial partial filing fee of $17.14 if he wanted this case to proceed. (See
Doc. 5 at 2.) The Court gave Smith 21 days (that is, until February 19, 2026) to pay the
fee, failing which the Court would recommend dismissing this action (under Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 41(b)) for failure to prosecute. (See id.) That deadline has passed, and
Mr. Smith has not paid the fee. Accordingly, the Court now recommends dismissing this
action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. See, e.g., Henderson v. Renaissance
Grand Hotel, 267 F. App’x 496, 497 (8th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (“A district court has
discretion to dismiss an action under Rule 41(b) for a plaintiff’s failure to prosecute, or to
comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or any court order.”).
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RECOMMENDATION
Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT
IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED THAT:
1. This action be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE under
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute.
2. Plaintiff Carl Douglas Smith’s Application to Proceed in District
Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Doc. 2) be DENIED as moot.
Dated: February 26, 2026 _s/Douglas L. Micko______________
DOUGLAS L. MICKO
United States Magistrate Judge
NOTICE
Filing Objections: This Report and Recommendation is not an order or judgment of the
District Court and is therefore not appealable directly to the Eighth Circuit Court of Ap-
peals.
Under Local Rule 72.2(b)(1), “a party may file and serve specific written objections to a
magistrate judge’s proposed finding and recommendations within 14 days after being
served a copy” of the Report and Recommendation. A party may respond to those objec-
tions within 14 days after being served a copy of the objections. See Local Rule 72.2(b)(2).
All objections and responses must comply with the word or line limits set forth in Local
Rule 72.2(c).
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