Opinion

Carter

Court
District Court, E.D. Missouri
Filed
Jan 27, 2026
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 38.3%

the authority of a court to dismiss sua sponte for lack of prosecution is inherent power governed “by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases”

How later courts described this case

  • the authority of a court to dismiss sua sponte for lack of prosecution is inherent power governed “by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases”
  • a district court has the power to dismiss an action for the plaintiff’s failure to comply with any court order

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

EASTERN DIVISION

DARRYL A. CARTER )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) Case No. 4:25-cv-1725-CMS

)

J LASATER, et al., )

)

Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on review of the case. In the Court’s Order of December

29, 2025, the Court denied Plaintiff Darryl A. Carter’s Application to Proceed in District Court

Without Prepaying Fees or Costs and ordered him to pay the full filing fee by January 19, 2026.

ECF No. 5. The Court’s Order warned Plaintiff that his “failure to timely pay the full filing fee

will result in the dismissal of this case.” Id. at 5. Nevertheless, Plaintiff has failed to pay the full

filing fee in compliance with that order. The Court will therefore dismiss this action, without

prejudice, due to Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Court’s December 29, 2025 Order and his

failure to prosecute his case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); see also Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S.

626, 630-31 (1962) (the authority of a court to dismiss sua sponte for lack of prosecution is inherent

power governed “by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to

achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases”); Brown v. Frey, 806 F.2d 801, 803 (8th

Cir. 1986) (a district court has the power to dismiss an action for the plaintiff’s failure to comply

with any court order).

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED without prejudice.

IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that an appeal from this dismissal would not be taken in

good faith.

An Order of Dismissal will accompany this Memorandum and Order.

Dated this 27th day of January 2026.

/ fh /;

CRISTIAN M. STEVENS

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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