Pro se case is reinstated after trial court dismissed it over technicality

This prisoners' rights case was dismissed on the ultimate technicality. The Court of Appeals brings it back, finding the district court improperly threw out the case on the basis that the inmate did not properly update the district court as to his address.

The case is Mayanduenas v. Bigelow, a summary order issued on March 16. Plaintiff brought this case pro se arising from his prison conditions. After the left jail, he was homeless. You can imagine the difficulties he had in updating the court about his address. The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute under Rule 41 after his updated address contained "a small typographical error," as the Court of Appeals (Raggi, Cabranes and Kaplan [D.J.]) puts it. Plaintiff ultimately sent the court his correct address. By then it was too late. The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute. 

When cases are dismissed for failure to prosecute, the Court of Appeals will reinstate the case only if the trial court abused its discretion. That standard of review makes it quite difficult to win the appeal. But the Second Circuit notes that a dismissal for failure to prosecute is particularly harsh result that should be utilized in extreme circumstances, especially when the plaintiff is pro se.

What saves the case for plaintiff is the fact that he was homeless, had mental health struggles, and a limited language proficiency. While the trial court did apprise him of the need to notify it of his change of address, that directive was sent to the correctional facility after plaintiff had been released from jail. Prior to his release, plaintiff had kept the court apprised of his address. And, there is no prejudice to the state in this case as a result of plaintiff's failure to comply with the court's rules, as the delay did not increase the likelihood that evidence favorable to the state in this case would have been lost because of the delay. Discovery was not even scheduled to conclude when the case was dismissed. Plaintiff's case is back on the docket.