(PC) Williams v. Arias

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LANCE WILLIAMS, Case No.: 1:25-cv-01249-JLT-CDB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE IMPOSED 13 v. FOR PLAINTIFF’S FAILURE TO OPPOSE DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS 14 OFFICER ARIAS, et al., 14-Day Response Deadline 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Lance Williams is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights 18 action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 1983. 19 I. INTRODUCTION 20 On August 12, 2026, Defendants Areias, Aguirre, Peterson, and Reynoso filed a motion to 21 dismiss. (Doc. 23.) Despite the passage of more than 21 days, Plaintiff has failed to file either an 22 opposition or a statement of non-opposition to Defendants’ pending motion. 23 II. DISCUSSION 24 This Court’s Local Rules, corresponding with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, provide 25 that a “[f]ailure of counsel or of a party to comply with these Rules or with any order of the Court 26 may be grounds for the imposition by the Court of any and all sanctions authorized by statute or 27 Rule or within the inherent power of the Court.” See Local Rule 110. Further, Local Rule 230 ee enn eee IEE III IIIS IRE IRIE IIE EID IIE ] Opposition, if any, to the granting of the motion shall be served and filed by the responding party not more than twenty-one (21) days 2 after the date of service of the motion. A responding party who has no opposition to the granting of the motion shall serve and file a 3 statement to that effect, specifically designating the motion in question. Failure of the responding party to file an opposition or to 4 file a statement of no opposition may be deemed a waiver of any opposition to the granting of the motion and may result in the 5 imposition of sanctions. 6 || Local Rule 230(/). Therefore, Plaintiff's opposition or statement of non-opposition to Defendants’ 7 || pending motion to dismiss was due on or before September 8, 2026 (see Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(1) & g || (d).) Notably, because Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated, he is not entitled to any additional time g || for purposes of mailing.' Rather, Plaintiff must ensure his pleadings or documents are received and 10 | filed with the Court on or before the deadline. To date, Plaintiff has failed to timely file an 11 || opposition or statement of non-opposition, and the time to do so has now passed. 12 Il. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 13 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Plaintiff to show cause in writing, within 14 days of 14 || the date of service of this order, why sanctions should not be imposed for his failure to comply 15 || with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this Court’s Local Rules. Alternatively, within that 16 || same time, Plaintiff may file an opposition or statement of non-opposition to Defendants’ motion 17 || to dismiss filed August 12, 2026. 18 Any failure by Plaintiff to comply with this Order to Show Cause (OSC) may result 19 | in the motion being considered unopposed and/or a recommendation that this action be 20 | dismissed for Plaintiff’s failure to comply with court orders and failure to prosecute. 21 | ITIS SO ORDERED. 22 Dated: _ September 9, 2026 | Wr ( , —- 3 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 | — SSS 1 See, e.g., Gelazela v. United States, No. 1:21-cv-01499-JLT-EPG (PC), 2024 WL 3675609, at *8, n.2 (E.D. Cal. 25 Aug. 5, 2024) (finding the mailbox rule does not apply because plaintiff was released from custody when he filed his complaint); Emasealu v. Gomez, No. 1:22-cv-01326-HBK (PC), 2023 WL 5614937, at *1, n.2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 30, 26 2023) (“Because Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated, he is not entitled to the mailbox rule”); Estrada v. North Kern State Prison, No. 1:18-cv-00667-DAD-SAB (PC), 2020 WL 590114, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 6, 2020) (“the Court 27 reminds Plaintiff that, now that he has been released from custody, the prison mailbox rule no longer applies to his filings. ... In the future, Plaintiff should ensure that any motions for extension of time, or other responses to Court 28 deadlines, are mailed to the Court so they will be received by the applicable deadline”).