Alan W. Boudreau v. United States

Boudreau, a merchant seaman, appeals from the dismissal for lack of prosecution of his' libel for personal injuries caused by appellee brought under 28 U.S. C. § 1916.

This libel was filed on May 5, 1954 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Rule 14 of that court provides:

Under this rule the case appeared on the dismissal calendar three times, December 30, 1954, August 31, 1956 and March 4, 1957, and was finally dismissed for lack of prosecution on March 11, 1957.

Appellant contends that the rule is invalid because inconsistent with Supreme Court Admiralty Rule 38 which he asserts provides the exclusive grounds for dismissal. It reads:

He would have the rule interpreted to mean that if at any time he appeared and did anything at all in the way of prosecuting his suit, he could delay further prosecution for as long as he pleased and the district court could do nothing about it. We think the possibility of this absurd claim makes the district court’s Rule 14, just what the Supreme Court Admiralty Rule 44 contemplates. That rule reads:

We further hold that were Rule 14 of the district court not applicable under this set of facts the…