Opinion ID: 3036297
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evaluation of the Six Poulis Factors

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
The District Court found that Briscoe’s failure to attend the conference prejudiced the defendants because the defendants could not “effectively prepare for trial so as to bring the litigation to a resolution.” Again, while the District Court correctly described the law, the record was insufficient for it to conclude that Briscoe’s conduct prejudiced the defendants without providing Briscoe with an opportunity to explain why he failed to attend the conference. We have stated that “[e]vidence of prejudice to an adversary would bear substantial weight in support of a dismissal or default judgment.” Adams v. Trustees of N.J. Brewery Employees’ Pension Trust Fund, 29 F.3d 863, 873-74 (3d Cir. 1994) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Generally, prejudice includes “the irretrievable loss of evidence, the inevitable dimming of witnesses’ memories, or the excessive and possibly irremediable burdens or costs imposed on the opposing party.” Id. at 874 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). In the present case, the defendants were not prejudiced based on this general description of prejudice, i.e., Briscoe’s failure to attend the conference did not cause a loss of evidence, a dimming of the witnesses’ memories, or excessive costs. See id. However, prejudice is not limited to “irremediable” or “irreparable” harm. Id.; see also Ware v. Rodale Press, Inc., 322 F.3d 218, 222 (3d Cir. 2003); Curtis T. Bedwell & Sons, Inc. v. Int’l Fidelity Ins. Co., 843 F.2d 683, 693-94 (3d Cir. 1988). It also includes “the burden imposed by impeding a 13 party’s ability to prepare effectively a full and complete trial strategy.” Ware, 322 F.3d at 222. Oftentimes, this type of prejudice involves disputes between the parties on discovery matters because the defendants were deprived of necessary information or had to expend costs to obtain court orders for compliance. See, e.g., Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868 (finding that the defendants were prejudiced where the plaintiffs did not answer interrogatories, the defendants had to file a motion to compel the plaintiffs’ answers, and the defendant had “to file its pre-trial statement without the opportunity to review plaintiffs’ pretrial statement which was due to be filed first”); Ware, 322 F.3d at 220-23 (affirming the District Court’s conclusion that a defendant had been prejudiced where the plaintiff repeatedly ignored the defendant’s discovery request for the plaintiff’s computation of damages and did not provide it until one week prior to trial). The District Court was correct in extending this type of deprivation of necessary information to final pretrial conferences. At the final pretrial conference, the District Court “formulate[s] a trial plan, including a plan to facilitate the admission of evidence.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(e). By this time, each party has fully disclosed the evidence it plans to present at trial. If the plaintiff has not disclosed all of its evidence prior to trial or fails to attend the conference, the District Court would not be able to properly formulate a plan, prejudicing the defendants in their trial preparations. In the present case, assuming Briscoe’s failure to attend the conference was of his own accord, the District Court was unable to formulate the trial plan, prejudicing the defendants to 14 some extent.3 However, the District Court’s finding is dependent on the factual premise that Briscoe did not attend the hearing of his own accord. If it had conducted a hearing and found Briscoe’s assertion to be true, any prejudice to these defendants would be negated because, under those facts, the defendants themselves caused Briscoe’s no-show. Therefore, the District Court could not have reached its conclusion as to prejudice without providing Briscoe with an opportunity to be heard.
The District Court found that Briscoe did not have a history of dilatoriness, but that his refusal to attend the conference was a dilatory tactic in light of his request for an extension of time to comply with the court’s order regarding pretrial documentation. From this “refusal,” the District Court found that it “[wa]s faced with a complete lack of cooperation” on Briscoe’s part. We agree with the District Court that Briscoe did not have a history of dilatoriness. Regarding whether this instance was a dilatory tactic, we find that the evidence in the record is not sufficient to support that finding, and even if it was, the District Court should not have utilized a single instance of dilatory behavior in balancing the Poulis factors. 3 While the defendants would be prejudiced, we note that there are varying degrees of prejudice, and courts should consider the degree of prejudice that the defendant suffered accordingly when conducting the balancing of the Poulis factors. 15 “Extensive or repeated delay or delinquency constitutes a history of dilatoriness, such as consistent non-response to interrogatories, or consistent tardiness in complying with court orders.” Adams, 29 F.3d at 874; see also Ware, 322 F.3d at 224 (finding that a history of dilatory conduct existed because the plaintiffs “failed repeatedly” to provide a damages calculation for the defendant); Emerson, 296 F.3d at 191 (finding that a history of dilatory conduct existed because the “procedural history of this case reflects continuous dilatoriness” as demonstrated by the plaintiff’s multiple requests for stays and failure to comply with multiple deadlines). For example, in Poulis, the plaintiffs never sought discovery, did not answer discovery requests, and did not file a pretrial statement by the court’s established deadline, and the District Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ case. 747 F.2d at 865. We remanded to the District Court for it to consider whether alternative sanctions were available. Id. at 866. It ordered the parties to file briefs, the plaintiffs’ brief was four days late, and it once again dismissed the case. Id. at 866-67. Based on this evidence, we held that a “consistent delay” was present, and thus, it met the requirement for a “history of dilatoriness.” Id. at 868. However, conduct that occurs one or two times is insufficient to demonstrate a “history of dilatoriness.” See Scarborough v. Eubanks, 747 F.2d 871, 875 (3d Cir. 1984) (finding that, although the plaintiff’s pretrial documents were “filed inexcusably late,” it was not the same history of dilatoriness present in Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868); Donnelly v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 677 F.2d 339, 343 (3d Cir. 1982) (reinstating plaintiff’s case where the plaintiff acted dilatory on one occasion but no evidence existed that the plaintiff’s 16 behavior was willful). Furthermore, we must evaluate “a party’s problematic acts . . . in light of its behavior over the life of the case.” Adams, 29 F.3d at 875 (citing Dyotherm Corp. v. Turbo Machine Co., 392 F.2d 146 (3d Cir. 1968)). In Dyotherm, plaintiff’s counsel did not inform the court that he was not going to secure separate patent counsel, in which case the trial would have begun three months earlier. 392 F.2d at 147. He then arrived late to the first day of trial, informed the judge that his principal witness could not appear for another week and another witness was still unknown to him, and arrived late the subsequent day still unable to present a witness. Id. As a result, the District Court dismissed the plaintiff’s case. Id. However, we reversed, finding that the plaintiff had not engaged in any dilatory tactics during the first two-and-a-half years that the case had been pending, and thus, “the district court should not have applied the harsh penalty of dismissal.” Id. at 149. As noted, we agree with the District Court’s conclusion that Briscoe’s conduct did not demonstrate a “history of dilatoriness.” Even assuming that Briscoe “refused” to attend the conference, his refusal was only one instance of dilatory conduct.4 Thus, unlike in Poulis, Emerson, and Ware, Briscoe 4 The defendants argue that Briscoe was also dilatory in failing to attend his deposition. However, the District Court previously found that he was not fully responsible for his failure to attend the deposition, and his actions were not willful or in bad faith. Considering this prior finding, as well as Briscoe’s allegations that he chose not to attend the deposition because all of his personal belongings, including his clothing, had been removed from his cell, we cannot find that the District Court 17 did not engage in any prior instances of dilatory conduct that could constitute a continuous stream of dilatory conduct. Moreover, to the extent that the District Court relied on Briscoe’s failure to attend the conference as a “dilatory tactic” in its balancing of the Poulis factors, it should have considered this conduct in light of the fact that Briscoe had consistently met deadlines for past motions and had prosecuted his case for over three years. See Dyotherm, 392 F.2d at 149. Thus, even if the record supported the District Court’s finding that Briscoe was dilatory, it should not have weighed this one instance of dilatory conduct against Briscoe in its balancing of the Poulis factors. Finally, we do not think this record so clearly supports the District Court’s conclusion that Briscoe was dilatory in this instance. Its finding is again dependent on the premise that Briscoe refused to attend the pretrial conference. As discussed above, the District Court should have provided Briscoe with the opportunity to explain his failure to attend the conference. Because it did not, the record was insufficient for the District Court to find that Briscoe refused to attend the conference as a dilatory tactic. abused its discretion in choosing not to consider this conduct in determining whether Briscoe had a history of dilatory conduct. Thus, the defendants’ argument that Briscoe had engaged in more than one instance of dilatory conduct fails. 18
attorney was willful or in bad faith. The District Court found that Briscoe was “willful” because he did not attend the conference despite the court’s express warning that it could dismiss his claims. Although the District Court correctly described the law, the record does not support its finding that Briscoe was willful because it did not provide Briscoe with an opportunity to explain the reason he failed to attend the hearing. Under this factor, the District Court must consider whether the conduct was “the type of willful or contumacious behavior which was characterized as flagrant bad faith.” Adams, 29 F.3d at 875 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Generally, “[w]illfulness involves intentional or self-serving behavior.” Id. If the conduct is merely negligent or inadvertent, we will not call the conduct “contumacious.” See Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868-69 (finding that plaintiff’s counsel’s behavior was not contumacious because, although he had missed deadlines, there was no suggestion that his delays were for any reason other than his and his wife’s poor health); see also Emerson, 296 F.3d at 191 (finding bad faith because the conduct went beyond mere negligence). Therefore, the District Court was correct in finding that, where a plaintiff refuses to attend a final pretrial conference in an attempt to delay the trial, his refusal would be “willful.” However, the record is insufficient to support the District Court’s finding that Briscoe refused to attend the pretrial conference. As discussed in the three preceding factors, the 19 District Court should have provided Briscoe with a full and fair opportunity to present the reasons he did not attend the conference prior to finding that he “refused” to attend.5 Because it did not, the record is insufficient to support its finding that Briscoe willfully refused to attend the conference with the purpose to delay the proceedings.
dismissal, which entails an analysis of alternative sanctions. The District Court found that alternative sanctions were not available in this case because “[w]hen a Plaintiff fails to prosecute his action, outside of dismissal of the action, the Court cannot envision a sanction that would be appropriate.” It further found that monetary sanctions, including fines, costs, or payment of attorneys’ fees were unavailable. We agree with the District Court’s conclusion. A District Court must consider the availability of sanctions alternative to dismissal. Poulis, 747 F.2d at 869. Where an attorney has caused the delay and noncompliance in the proceedings, we have noted that “[u]nder the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the 1983 amendments, the district court is specifically authorized to impose on an attorney those expenses, including attorneys’ fees, caused by unjustified failure to comply with discovery orders or pretrial orders.” Id. 5 We note that, even assuming that Briscoe did not attend the pretrial conference on his own accord, it does not necessarily follow that his purpose was to delay the proceedings. 20 However, where a plaintiff is proceeding pro se, and moreover, is proceeding in forma pauperis, we have upheld the District Court’s conclusion that no alternative sanctions existed because monetary sanctions, including attorney’s fees, “would not be an effective alternative.” Emerson, 296 F.3d at 191. In the present case, Briscoe was proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis. Because he was proceeding pro se, he had no attorney upon whom the District Court could impose the expenses for failing to comply with the court’s orders as in Poulis. Moreover, both the fact that he was proceeding in forma pauperis and that he was currently incarcerated indicated that he would not be able to pay monetary sanctions. See Emerson, 296 F.3d at 191. Therefore, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in finding that there were no alternative sanctions available to it, and the record supported its finding.6
defense. The District Court found that Briscoe’s claims “were based in some merit” because they “had successfully cleared the summary judgment hurdle and were in posture to proceed to trial.” We agree with the District Court’s conclusion. 6 Although Briscoe argues that the District Court did not consider the availability of alternative sanctions as thoroughly as it should have, he does not point to any alternative sanctions that were available to the District Court in this case. 21 Generally, in determining whether a plaintiff’s claim is meritorious, we use the standard for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Poulis, 747 F.2d at 869-70. Thus, we deem “[a] claim, or defense . . . meritorious when the allegations of the pleadings, if established at trial, would support recovery by plaintiff or would constitute a complete defense.” Id. In the present case, several of Briscoe’s claims survived the summary judgment stage of litigation. Therefore, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Briscoe, his claims presented genuine issues of material fact, necessitating a trial on the issues. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Moore v. City of Phila., 461 F.3d 331, 340 (3d Cir. 2006). A fortiori, these claims surpassed the Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss standard, and under the Poulis analysis, his claims are deemed to have merit.