Local Rule 41.1: DISMISSAL FOR WANT OF PROSECUTION
D. Mass. — Civil rule
RULE 41.1 DISMISSAL FOR WANT OF PROSECUTION
(a) By the Clerk.
(1) Whenever in any civil action the clerk shall ascertain that no proceeding has been docketed therein for a period of one year, the clerk shall then serve notice to all persons who have entered an appearance in such a case that, subject to the provisions of subsection (a)(3), the case will be dismissed without further notice 28 days after the sending of the notice.
(2) If no response is received within the 28-day period, without order of the court the clerk shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (a)(3), enter an order of dismissal for all cases on the list. It shall not be necessary for the clerk to serve additional notice of the dismissal to any counsel or party.
(3) A case shall not be dismissed for lack of prosecution if within 28 days of the serving of notice an explanation for the lack of proceedings is filed and the judicial officer to whom the case is assigned orders that it not be dismissed.
(b) By the Court.
(1) Additionally, each judicial officer may from time to time give notice of not less than 21 days of hearing on a dismissal calendar for actions or proceedings assigned to that judicial officer that appear not to have been diligently prosecuted. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, each party shall, not less than 14 days prior to the noticed hearing date, serve and file a certificate describing the status of the action or proceeding and showing that good cause exists for the court to retain the case on the docket. Nothing in this rule precludes the filing of a motion for dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
(2) Failure on the part of the plaintiff to file the required statement or to appear at the scheduled hearing shall be grounds for the dismissal of the action.
(c) The dismissal of a case pursuant to this rule shall not operate as an adjudication on the merits unless the court on motion of a party directs otherwise.
Effective September 1, 1990; amended effective December 1, 2009.