Johnny Conaway vs. Semiko L. Lewis (Conaway)

This is a suit by an incarcerated prisoner seeking a divorce from his unincarcerated wife. The complaint alleges that the parties have no children and seeks divorce on the grounds of adultery and desertion. The defendant was before the court by personal service of process and did not answer the complaint. The prisoner sought default judgment which motion was never acted upon by the trial court. The circuit court clerk served a notice on the parties in this case on January 7, 2000, that since the case had been filed since December 9, 1998 and not prosecuted, it was subject to dismissal for failure to prosecute. On February 29, 2000, the case was dismissed for failure to prosecute. The prisoner/plaintiff timely appealed and we reverse the action of the trial court.