Dew v. City of Seaside

Background

Plaintiffs Lori Dew; G.V., W.V., I.B.V., L.V., and T.C., minors; and the Estate of Brandon Virtue sued the City of Seaside, Chief Abdul Pridgen, Manuel Fernandez, and unnamed defendants. Plaintiffs filed the action on September 24, 2019. The summons was issued on December 13, 2019.

Plaintiffs asked for an additional 90 days to serve Fernandez. They stated that on December 19 they made diligent efforts to serve him at his last known work address at the Seaside Police Department. The department declined to provide a forwarding address, and plaintiffs said they had not been told before attempting service that Fernandez no longer worked there. Plaintiffs also said that his address might be provided through initial disclosures, answers to interrogatories, or informal discovery, and that an independent investigation might be unsuccessful because Fernandez’s name is common.

Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) generally gives a plaintiff 90 days to serve a defendant after filing a complaint. If the plaintiff shows good cause for failing to serve within that period, the court must extend the service deadline. The court also has discretion to extend the deadline when good cause is absent.

Ruling

The court found that plaintiffs had demonstrated good cause because they had made diligent service efforts, had not been informed that Fernandez was no longer working at the police department, and had been unable to obtain a forwarding address. The court therefore granted plaintiffs’ motion to extend the time for service. It allowed plaintiffs to serve Fernandez and file proof of service no later than March 25, 2020.

Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. signed the order on December 20, 2019.