had been filed by Cook or signed by defendants. Plaintiffs’ counsel Cook asserted defendants’ attorney had not responded to plaintiffs’ requests for a Local Rule 9 meeting made on October 11, 18, and 22, and November 7 and 9. Apparently, the parties’ lawyers got into yet another squabble over whose office would be the site of the Local Rule 9 meeting.
On November 12,1993, the court dismissed the ease with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rules of CM Procedure 41(b) and 16(f). The court based the dismissal on Cook’s failure to pay the ordered fine, on all plaintiffs’ counsels’ failure to follow the sanction payment procedure prescribed by the court, and on the failure to file the joint exhibit and witness list and joint pretrial order on time. Both Dahl and Shugart filed motions seeking to set aside the dismissal. The court denied those motions, and Dahl and Shugart appeal.
II. DISCUSSION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) provides that a defendant may move for dismissal of an action for “failure of the plaintiff to prosecute or to comply with these rules or any order of court.” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f) provides for the imposition of sanctions when an attorney disobeys a scheduling or pretrial order or is unprepared to participate in a pretrial conference.
Before imposing dismissal as a sanction, the district court must weigh several factors: the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; the court’s need to manage its docket; the risk of prejudice to the defendants; the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and the availability of less drastic sanctions. Thompson v. Housing Auth. of Los Angeles, 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 829, 107 S.Ct. 112, 93 L.Ed.2d 60 (1986). “Dismissal, however, is so harsh a penalty it should be imposed as a sanction only in extreme circumstances.” Id. This court reviews a district court’s dismissal under rule 41(b) for abuse of discretion, determining whether the sanction was clearly outside the acceptable range based upon the facts of the particular case. Chism v. National Heritage Life Ins. Co., 637 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir.1981), overruled on other grounds, Bryant v. Ford Motor Co., 844 F.2d 602, 605 (9th Cir.1987) (en banc); see also Hyde & Drath v. Baker, 24 F.3d 1162, 1169 (9th Cir.1994).
Here, the court dismissed the case because the plaintiffs’ attorneys had failed to pay sanctions in the manner prescribed by the court, one attorney had failed, to pay sanctions altogether and a timely joint exhibit and witness list had not been filed. Under the particular facts of this case, we conclude the dismissal was improper because public policy strongly favored resolution of this dispute on the merits, outright dismissal penalized only one of two parties guilty of discovery abuse, and dismissal severely penalized plaintiffs Dahl and Shugart for their counsels’ bad behavior.
In cases that implicate important public policy concerns, the court should weigh the public interest in the case and the preference for disposing of cases on their merits prior to granting dismissal. United States v. National Medical Enters., Inc., 792 F.2d 906, 913 (9th Cir.1986). The underlying claim of police brutality in this case is a serious one, calling into question the manner by which the state exercises its monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Thus, the public has an interest in having this ease decided on the merits.
Furthermore, in arguing against the dismissal with prejudice, appellants Dahl and Shugart contend that the blame for the discovery delays at issue rests to some degree with the appellees. We agree. This unseemly extended dispute over whose office should be used for a meeting reveals both parties to be capable of unprofessional behavior. Although a party may be penalized for his counsel’s actions, see Chism, 637 F.2d at 1332, this court has “acknowledge[d] that the degree of a plaintiff’s personal responsi