Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute

I previously talked about dismissal as a sanction here.  On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals addressed this same issue in the context of failing to prosecute a suit after if was filed in Cornelius v. Benefield, et. al. located here.  The main issue of the case was whether the delay of the Plaintiff in prosecuting the case prejudiced the defendant to the extent that dismissal was appropriate.  The trial court said yes and the Court of Appeals affirmed.  However, four (4) judges dissented saying that the sanction was too harsh under the circumstances as the issue appeared to be problems with the Plaintiff's attorney as opposed to the Plaintiff.  Cases like this are why I hate for cases to sit too long.  This only further adds to the attorney paranoia.