Opinion ID: 752135
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: 7 This court will reverse a dismissal for noncompliance with local rules only upon a finding of abuse of discretion. Carver v. Bunch, 946 F.2d 451, 452 (6th Cir.1991). An abuse of discretion exists when the reviewing court is firmly convinced that a mistake has been made. Romstadt v. Allstate Ins. Co., 59 F.3d 608, 615 (6th Cir.1995). A district court abuses its discretion when it relies on clearly erroneous findings of fact, when it improperly applies the law, or uses an erroneous legal standard. Id. at 615. In other words, the reviewing court must determine that the lower court's action leaves it with a definite and firm conviction that the trial court committed a clear error of judgment. Bowling v. Pfizer, Inc., 102 F.3d 777, 780 (6th Cir.1996) (citation omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 263, 139 L.Ed.2d 190 (1997).