Opinion ID: 707278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jensen's claims against apm

Text: 27 The district court order directed Jensen to file a Second Amended Complaint setting forth the allegations contained in her Second and Third Claims only against Defendants Applied Pest Management, Inc. and Gregory Clark. 8 All other claims and defendants have been dismissed, and Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint should so indicate. On May 4, 1994, Jensen filed a Second Amended Complaint without leave of the court. She moved for reconsideration on May 12, 1994. The district court entered an order striking Jensen's Second Amended Complaint on May 16, 1994. Jensen refiled her Second Amended Complaint with leave of court on June 7, 1994. On June 27, 1994, the district court denied her motion for reconsideration. 28 Jensen revised the caption of her complaint and deleted the paragraphs setting forth the causes of action that had been dismissed. However, Jensen realleged these dismissed causes of action in Paragraph XIII of her Second Amended Complaint as evidence of negligence. Paragraph XIII charges APM with reckless disregard for life, health and safety; lack of notice; deliberate concealment; aggravation of injury; and violations of the California Labor, Business & Professional, Food & Agriculture and Health & Safety Codes. In that paragraph, Jensen notes that violation of statutes is cited here as evidence of negligence and not as legal action under the cited statutes. 29 The district court found that the Second Amended Complaint contains all of her claims against all of the defendants which have been dismissed from this action. The court dismissed the complaint with prejudice pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b) for Jensen's failure to comply with a court order. 30 District courts have the power to dismiss claims with prejudice for failure to comply with an order of the court. Von Bronkhorst v. Safeco Corp., 529 F.2d 943, 947 (9th Cir.1976). Dismissal is a severe remedy. District courts may impose this sanction only after weighing five factors: (1) the public interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the litigants; (4) the public policy favoring the disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260-61 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 321 (1992); Thompson v. Housing Authority of Los Angeles, 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 829 (1986). 31 We review for abuse of discretion the district court's dismissal of the action for failure to comply with a court order. Thompson, 782 F.2d at 832; Von Bronkhorst, 529 F.2d at 947-48. Because the district judge is in the best position to assess the circumstances, we give Judge Ware's determination that Jensen failed to comply with the order considerable weight on appeal. Von Bronkhorst, 529 F.2d at 947-48. However, we note that dismissal is a harsh sanction reserved for extreme circumstances. Thompson, 782 F.2d at 832. 32 We apply the five-factor test and conclude that Jensen's partial noncompliance does not merit dismissal of her Second Amended Complaint. The district court had an interest in the expeditious resolution of this litigation and a need to control its docket. Jensen, however, did not deliberately stall the proceedings and in fact attempted to conform her Second Amended Complaint to the court's order. Although she did not comply fully, Jensen, a pro se plaintiff, 9 did modify her complaint in a manner consistent with the order. Dismissal severely prejudiced Jensen and eliminated any chance she had to adjudicate her case on the merits. Moreover, the court had at its disposal the less drastic sanctions of striking Paragraph XIII from the Second Amended Complaint or ordering Jensen to file an additional amended complaint deleting the remaining nonconforming claims and defendants. We therefore hold that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing Jensen's Second Amended Complaint. We reverse the district court's dismissal of Jensen's Second Amended Complaint. V. BIAS OF THE DISTRICT COURT JUDGE 33 Jensen alleges for the first time on appeal that Judge Ware was biased against her because he was also assigned on a random basis to preside over Jensen's defamation suit against one of her doctors. Judge Ware remanded that suit to state court. Because Jensen failed to file an affidavit of judicial bias with Judge Ware during the pendency of the district court proceeding, we cannot address her claim of judicial bias. See 28 U.S.C. Sec. 144. Moreover, we find no merit in Jensen's arguments for recusal. See United States v. Studley, 783 F.2d 934, 939 (9th Cir.1986) (alleged prejudice must result from an extrajudicial source; a judge's prior adverse ruling is not sufficient cause for recusal).