Page:Gripe v. City of Enid.pdf/6

 court’s orders and applicable rules and that the inconvenience and expense to the other parties and the court warranted dismissal.

Plaintiff filed a motion for relief from judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), and later supplemented the motion with an affidavit from his attorney. Plaintiff’s attorney sought to excuse his failure to comply with the court's order to appear at the status conference by pointing to his personal obligations and busy litigation schedule. In denying relief, the district court observed that in addition to failing to appear at the status conference, plaintiff's attorney had "a disturbing history of missed deadlines and noncompliance with the court's orders in this case." doc. 30, at 266. The court held that plaintiff had failed to justify his request for relief under Rule 60(b), in part because there was no reason to believe that another warning would be effective. The court further held that dismissal did not penalize plaintiff unjustly because he had chosen the attorney who had repeatedly failed to comply with court orders and rules. Plaintiff appeals, claiming dismissal was too harsh a sanction under the circumstances.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorize sanctions, including dismissal, for failing to appear at a pretrial or scheduling conference, Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f) and 37(b)(2)(C), and for failing to comply with court rules or any -6-