The following excerpt is from Smalls v. Cnty. of Suffolk, 16-1614, 16-4323 (2nd Cir. 2017):
We have described dismissal of a plaintiff's case as "one of the harshest sanctions" to be reserved for "extreme circumstances." United States ex rel. Drake v. Norden Sys., Inc., 375 F.3d 248, 251 (2d Cir. 2004). Here, barring Plaintiffs from pursuing their claims would be a "manifest injustice" because the dereliction of Plaintiffs' attorney could be appropriately dealt with by a monetary sanction on the attorney, instead of so harshly sanctioning the Plaintiffs who were innocent of the dereliction. We therefore exercise our discretion under Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of
Page 6
Appellate Procedure to overlook Plaintiffs' waiver and to address the merits of the Rule 41(b) dismissal.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.