Rodriguez v. Koenig
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:19-cv-01273
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Rodriguez v. Labahn, Judge Rogers dismissed without prejudice all claims against James Martin because he was not served.
Cesar A. Rodriguez and Deputy Commissioner James Martin; the ruling dismissed all claims against Martin without prejudice because he had not been served.
What happened
In Rodriguez v. Labahn, Cesar A. Rodriguez brought a lawsuit without a lawyer under a federal civil-rights law. The court had ordered that the defendants be served.
Deputy Commissioner James Martin had not been served. The court had given Rodriguez 28 days to provide information needed for service, but he did not provide it. Because more than 120 days had passed and Rodriguez did not show a reason for the delay, the court dismissed the claims against Martin without prejudice.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued the order on March 3, 2020. The ruling concerned the claims against Martin and was based on the failure to complete service, not on the merits of those claims.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez v. Koenig · No. 4:19-cv-01273
- Yvonne Rogers
- Mar. 3, 2020
Background
Cesar A. Rodriguez, identified as a former state prisoner, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court had issued an order providing for service of the defendants. Deputy Commissioner James Martin had not been served.
Because Rodriguez was proceeding without paying the filing fee, the court stated that he was responsible for providing current addresses for the defendants so service could be completed. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), a complaint may be dismissed without prejudice when it is not served within 120 days. The court also explained that a self-represented litigant who is told about a service problem must try to correct it.
Court’s Reasoning
In an order dated January 3, 2020, the court informed Rodriguez that he needed to provide an address for Martin within 28 days. The 28-day period passed, but Rodriguez did not provide the required information. More than 120 days had passed since the action was filed, service on Martin had not been completed, and Rodriguez had not shown cause for the failure to serve him.
Ruling
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed all claims against James Martin without prejudice under Rule 4(m). The opinion does not decide the underlying merits of those claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.