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 plaintiffs 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
DAVID C. LETTIERI, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) No. 4:25-cv-1836-CMS
)
KEEFE GROUP, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon review of the file. Plaintiff David C. Lettieri
commenced this civil action on December 16, 2025. ECF No. 1. On April 10, 2026, the Court
denied Plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepaying costs or fees and ordered Plaintiff to pay
the filing fee in full. ECF No. 3. Plaintiff was given 21 days from the date of the Order to pay the
filing fee. Id. The Court cautioned Plaintiff that his failure to timely comply with the Order
would result in the dismissal of the case without further notice. Id.
To date, Plaintiff has neither responded to the Court’s Order, nor sought additional time
to do so. Plaintiff was given meaningful notice of what was expected, he was cautioned that his
case would be dismissed if he failed to timely comply, and he was given ample time to comply.
The Court will therefore dismiss this action, without prejudice, due to Plaintiff’s failure to
comply with the Court’s April 10, 2026 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 plaintiffs 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 8th day of May, 2026.
J | ; in /
Lf ye Ve
CRISTIAN M. STEVENS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE