cunundrum69
Member
FEDERAL CIVIL US DISTRICT COURT
I am a pro-se plaintiff in a civil rights action. (42 USC 1983). I had met with defense counsel and we had filed a joint case management statement. The Court had scheduled a case management conference between the parties. On the day I was supposed to appear in court, my car would not start and I live in a woodsy forested area, and live 20 miles from civilization and public transportation.
I have no phone. Therefore, I missed the case management court hearing. I know this was my fault and I should have made better arraignments. I have read some cases where the federal court will dismiss a case if an attorney for the plaintiff fails to appear at a case management conference. However, the case of Schilling v. Walworth County park and planning commission, 805 F.2d 272 (1986) indicates that before the Court may dismiss a case involving a pro-per litigant, it must first provide to him a warning that another failure to appear without good reasons will result in dismissal of the case. Therefore, I should be OK in this respect, and am not to fearful of an automatic dismissal.
Two days later, when I finally got my car to start, I went to the clerks office of the court and asked what happened. She said the court did not enter anything on the docket? I asked if there were minute orders available for the court date, and she said no. I asked her what I should do, and she said she cannot help me.
My question is as follows: I am assuming that the court is going to want to hear some sort of good cause excuse why I failed to appear. But the Court has not rescheduled the case management conference or entered an order requesting me to provide it an excuse. Should I wait until the Court acts, or should I immediately file in the court a motion explaining my circumstances as to why I missed the court hearing? Should I also file a motion to reschedule the case management conference? What would an attorney do in this situation.
I am a pro-se plaintiff in a civil rights action. (42 USC 1983). I had met with defense counsel and we had filed a joint case management statement. The Court had scheduled a case management conference between the parties. On the day I was supposed to appear in court, my car would not start and I live in a woodsy forested area, and live 20 miles from civilization and public transportation.
I have no phone. Therefore, I missed the case management court hearing. I know this was my fault and I should have made better arraignments. I have read some cases where the federal court will dismiss a case if an attorney for the plaintiff fails to appear at a case management conference. However, the case of Schilling v. Walworth County park and planning commission, 805 F.2d 272 (1986) indicates that before the Court may dismiss a case involving a pro-per litigant, it must first provide to him a warning that another failure to appear without good reasons will result in dismissal of the case. Therefore, I should be OK in this respect, and am not to fearful of an automatic dismissal. Two days later, when I finally got my car to start, I went to the clerks office of the court and asked what happened. She said the court did not enter anything on the docket? I asked if there were minute orders available for the court date, and she said no. I asked her what I should do, and she said she cannot help me.
My question is as follows: I am assuming that the court is going to want to hear some sort of good cause excuse why I failed to appear. But the Court has not rescheduled the case management conference or entered an order requesting me to provide it an excuse. Should I wait until the Court acts, or should I immediately file in the court a motion explaining my circumstances as to why I missed the court hearing? Should I also file a motion to reschedule the case management conference? What would an attorney do in this situation.