Opinion ID: 3036297
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: A history of dilatoriness.

Text: 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