Chalker v. Brantley, 1:25-cv-00077

Plaintiff Michael Chalker filed a pro se lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various officials at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center in Augusta, Georgia.
The court granted Chalker's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on April 1, 2025, contingent upon him returning required forms and a trust fund account statement within thirty days.
Plaintiff was explicitly warned that failure to comply would result in voluntary dismissal of the case without prejudice.
Court orders were returned as undeliverable because Chalker was released from detention and did not update his address, leaving the court unable to contact him.
The plaintiff neither submitted the required IFP paperwork nor paid the filing fee, nor did he keep the court apprised of his current address.
The magistrate judge recommended dismissing the case without prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with a court order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Failure to comply with court order re: IFP forms	Not directly stated	Plaintiff did not comply	Case should be dismissed without prejudice
Failure to prosecute case	Not directly stated	Plaintiff failed to prosecute	Case abandoned and should be dismissed
Requirement to update address with court	Not addressed	No updated address provided	Cannot proceed, case to be dismissed
Appropriateness of less severe sanctions	N/A	Monetary sanctions infeasible	Dismissal is appropriate remedy

Equity Lifestyle Props., Inc. v. Fla. Mowing & Landscape Serv., Inc., 556 F.3d 1232 (11th Cir. 2009) (recognizing the court’s discretion to dismiss cases for failure to prosecute or comply with orders)
Owens v. Pinellas Cnty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, 331 F. App’x 654 (11th Cir. 2009) (dismissal without prejudice for failure to comply, especially when plaintiff has been forewarned)
Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835 (11th Cir. 1989) (court’s authority to dismiss actions for lack of prosecution)