Major Fortson v. City of Baldwin, 699 F. App'x 906

Major and Laura Fortson, proceeding pro se, brought a § 1983 action; the district court dismissed their complaint with prejudice as a sanction for discovery misconduct.
Defendants served interrogatories and requests for production; the Fortsons largely responded by referring to their complaint and prior filings rather than providing substantive answers.
The district court warned the Fortsons that failure to comply with discovery and court orders could result in dismissal and later issued a specific order directing compliance.
The Fortsons continued to provide deficient discovery responses and offered no explanation for their noncompliance in the district court or on appeal.
The district court found the Fortsons’ conduct willful, that defendants were prejudiced, and that lesser sanctions would be ineffective; it therefore dismissed the action with prejudice.
The Fortsons also attempted to appeal the dismissal of defendant Robert A. Snead on judicial-immunity grounds but did not brief that issue and thus abandoned it on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether dismissal with prejudice was permissible as a discovery sanction	Fortson: court lacked authority to dismiss their constitutional claims for discovery noncompliance	Defendants: dismissal was authorized under Rules 37 and 41 given willful noncompliance and prejudice	Affirmed: dismissal was within district court's discretion for willful discovery violations
Whether the merits of the claims bar sanctions	Fortson: probable merit of claims should preclude dismissal	Defendants: merits do not excuse procedural noncompliance	Rejected: merits do not preclude sanctions for discovery noncompliance
Whether lesser sanctions were required before dismissal	Fortson: dismissal was excessive; lesser sanctions would suffice	Defendants: Fortsons repeatedly disobeyed orders; lesser sanctions would be ineffective	Affirmed: district court properly found lesser sanctions would be ineffective and need not make a "vain gesture"
Appeal of dismissal of defendant Snead on judicial immunity	Fortson: (raised but not briefed on appeal)	Defendants: issue waived by failure to brief	Court: issue abandoned for failure to brief on appeal

Wouters v. Martin Cty., 9 F.3d 924 (11th Cir. 1993) (standard for reviewing dismissal as discovery sanction)
Zocaras v. Castro, 465 F.3d 479 (11th Cir. 2006) (dismissal with prejudice is a sanction of last resort; abuse-of-discretion review)
Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835 (11th Cir. 1989) (pro se litigants remain subject to procedural rules)
Malautea v. Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd., 987 F.2d 1536 (11th Cir. 1993) (merits do not preclude sanctions; Rule 37 need not require futile lesser sanctions)
Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870 (11th Cir. 2008) (issues not briefed on appeal by a pro se litigant are deemed abandoned)