Williams v. Manson Construction Co.

MEMORANDUM ***

Plaintiff-Appellant Harold Williams appeals the dismissal of his personal injury lawsuit against Manson Construction Company (“Manson”). After the parties failed to file pretrial materials in accordance with the Local Rules, the district court, Honorable George P. Schiavelli presiding, 1 issued an Order to Show Cause (“OSC”) “why the Court should not impose significant sanctions ..., including dismissal of this action.” Due to a series of mishaps, Williams’s counsel failed to file a timely response to the OSC. The district court dismissed the action for failure to prosecute. Williams then moved for relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 60(b), claiming excusable neglect. 2 That motion was denied.

Williams appeals both the initial dismissal and the denial of relief under Rule 60(b). 3 A district court’s order denying relief under Rule 60(b) is reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard. Molloy v. Wilson, 878 F.2d 313, 315 (9th Cir.1989). “A district court abuses its discretion if it does not apply the correct law, rests its decision on a clearly erroneous finding of a material fact, or applies the correct legal standard in a manner that results…