Fred A. Jarva v. United States

Defendant’s civil case under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1346 , 2671-2680, was dismissed on August 13, 1959, in the district court for lack of prosecution. The action was filed on May 16, 1958.

The district court’s Rule 14, West’s Ann.Code, provides as follows:

On this appeal, necessarily the meaning of the word “step” is involved. The record shows that the last activity in the case prior to the dismissal proceedings was the taking by the plaintiff on October 16, 1958, of a deposition of the govern ment physician allegedly responsible for some damage to plaintiff’s body. This ■deposition was not transcribed and filed until December 29,1959

We take judicial notice of the fact that the district court concerned here ■ordinarily proceeds according to docket ■entries (thus, one finds an interpretation ■of “steps”) before calling up cases under Rule 14. On August 6, 1959, the clerk of the district court sent counsel a notice that Jarva’s case would be on the dismissal calendar on August 13, 1959. On this date, an associate of plaintiff’s counsel made an appearance and so did government counsel. Neither offered the court any proof, but supplied the court ■casually with…