Aura Lamp & Lighting Inc. v. International Trading Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
325 F.3d 903 (7th Cir. 2003)
Aura Lamp & Lighting Inc. (Aura Lamp) (plaintiff) sued International Trading Corp. (ITC) (defendant) for breach of contract and patent claims, then repeatedly missed deadlines: it delayed amending a deficient jurisdictional allegation until threatened with dismissal, missed two extended discovery deadlines, and never produced documents or complete discovery responses, with its attorney citing being a "one-man operation" without adequate resources. The judge let Aura Lamp's own attorney set the discovery deadline but repeatedly warned that missing it could mean dismissal. When it was missed anyway, the judge dismissed for failure to prosecute without requiring proof of willful misconduct, and Aura Lamp appealed.
Whether a complaint may be involuntarily dismissed for failure to prosecute based on the plaintiff's missed deadlines, noncompliance with court orders, and violation of court rules.