Opinion ID: 3036297
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The extent of the party’s personal

Text: responsibility. The District Court found that Briscoe was personally responsible for his refusal to attend the conference, particularly because he is proceeding pro se. Although the District Court correctly described the law, the record was insufficient for it to conclude that Briscoe was personally responsible without first providing him with an opportunity to explain why he failed to attend the conference. As a legal proposition, the District Court is correct in stating that a pro se plaintiff is responsible for his failure to attend a pretrial conference or otherwise comply with a court’s orders. Compare Emerson, 296 F.3d at 190, with Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868. In Emerson, we found that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the plaintiff’s case, and in doing so, we implicitly affirmed the District Court’s finding that a pro se plaintiff is personally responsible for complying with the court’s orders. 296 F.3d at 190-91. Moreover, it is logical to hold a pro se plaintiff personally responsible for delays in his case because a pro se plaintiff is solely responsible for the progress of his case, whereas a plaintiff represented by counsel 11 relies, at least in part, on his or her attorney. See Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868 (stating that “a client cannot always avoid the consequences of the acts or omissions of its counsel,” but considering “the [plaintiffs’] lack of responsibility for their counsel’s dilatory conduct” in conducting the balancing of the six factors). Therefore, the District Court was correct in stating that a pro se plaintiff is responsible for his failure to attend a pretrial conference or otherwise comply with a court’s orders. However, the record in the present case is insufficient to support the District Court’s finding that Briscoe “refus[ed] to attend the pretrial conference” and thus “fail[ed] to comply with orders of th[e] court.” The District Court made this finding based upon its communications with prison officials, and thus, it assumed that the prison officials’ correspondence was accurate and truthful. It never, however, sought Briscoe’s explanation regarding why he failed to attend the hearing and comply with the order. Briscoe now argues to this Court that the prison officials’ account of the incident was inaccurate and dishonest, and the reason he could not attend the conference was because the prison officials refused to transport him. As discussed above, the District Court should have provided Briscoe with the opportunity to explain his failure to attend the conference, thus gathering a full understanding of the facts. Because it did not, the record was insufficient for the District Court to find that Briscoe was personally responsible for failing to attend the conference. 12