his chosen representative. A litigant is bound by the actions of its attorney, and the relative innocence of the litigant in the failure does not constitute grounds for relief." Aplt. App. doc. 30, at 269.
Thus, the district court unquestionably considered the appropriate factors in deciding to dismiss plaintiff’s case, and its decision was not an abuse of discretion.
Plaintiff argues against the harshness of penalizing him for his attorney's conduct. But there is nothing novel here. Those who act through agents are customarily bound by their agents' mistakes. It is no different when the agent is an attorney. When an attorney drafting a contract omits an important clause, the client who signs the contract is bound. When a trial attorney is poorly prepared to cross-examine an expert witness, the client suffers the consequences. (It should be noted, however, that the mistreated client is not totally without a remedy. There may be a meritorious malpractice claim against the attorney.)
Virtually the same issue came before the Supreme Court in Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S. 626 (1962). The Court upheld the district court's inherent power to dismiss an action with prejudice when the plaintiff’s attorney, who had a history of dilatory conduct, missed a pretrial conference without an adequate excuse. Although the dismissal in Link was categorized as being for "failure to
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