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dismiss, a district court is “entitled, as authorized, to rule on the . . . motion and dismiss [the] suit
on the uncontroverted bases asserted” in the motion. Pueschel v. United States, 369 F.3d 345, 354
(4th Cir. 2004); see also Ferdinand-Davenport v. Children’s Guild, 742 F. Supp. 2d 772, 777 (D.
Md. 2010) (“By her failure to respond to [defendant’s] argument” in a motion to dismiss, “the
plaintiff abandons [her] claim.”); Mentch v. Eastern Sav. Bank, FSB, 949 F. Supp. 1236, 1247 (D.
Md. 1997) (holding that failure to address defendant’s arguments for summary judgment in
opposition brief constituted abandonment of claim). Moreover, a district court has “the inherent
authority . . . to dismiss a lawsuit sua sponte for failure to prosecute.” United States v. Moussaoui,
483 F.3d 220, 236 (4th Cir. 2007); see Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 629 (1962).
To be sure, a plaintiff’s failure to oppose a motion to dismiss is no guarantee of victory for
the defendant, because the district court also has discretion to decline to “grant a motion to dismiss
based on the failure to file a timely opposition when the motion is plainly lacking in merit.” United
States v. Sasscer, Civ. No. Y-97-3026, 2000 WL 1479154, at *2 n.6 (D. Md. Aug. 25, 2000).
Nevertheless, I detect no obvious lack of merit in defendants’ Motion.
As noted, ADT contends that plaintiffs’ Complaint is foreclosed by a class action
settlement. ECF 6-1 at 6-9. According to ADT, between November 2014 and May 2016, five
plaintiffs filed lawsuits against ADT in Illinois, California, Arizona, and Florida, alleging
consumer protection violations, products liability, and unjust enrichment on behalf of a putative
class of persons who entered into an alarm services contract with ADT. ECF 6-1 at 2; ECF 6-2
(Class Action Complaints). In March 2017, ADT entered into a global settlement agreement,
which was approved on July 22, 2019, by Judge John Tigar of the United States District Court for
the Northern District of California. See ECF 6-1 at 3; ECF 6-4 (N.D. Cal. Order of July 22, 2019);