McCourt v. Carver County

Background

Noah J. McCourt brought a disability-discrimination claim based on unsuccessful attempts to use Carver County’s website. He filed the case on September 28, 2018, initially without a lawyer, and later obtained counsel. The court granted his application to proceed without paying filing fees and directed the clerk’s office to issue a summons.

Carver County’s lawyer appeared before the County had been served. The summons was issued on December 13, 2018, but McCourt did not serve the County within 90 days after filing the complaint. In April 2019, the magistrate judge ordered McCourt’s counsel to take steps concerning the County’s response and to explain any good reason for the delay. McCourt’s counsel later said the failure to send a service-waiver form on time resulted from an “unintentional error.” McCourt served the County after the County filed its dismissal motion.

Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) requires dismissal without prejudice, or an order allowing more time for service, when a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed. If the plaintiff shows good cause, the court must extend the deadline. Even without good cause, the court may extend the deadline for excusable neglect, meaning a delay that is reasonably forgivable after considering the circumstances.

Effective service is also required for the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant—the court’s authority over that defendant. The court considered whether McCourt had shown good cause or excusable neglect for his failure to serve Carver County on time.

Court’s Analysis

The court held that McCourt had not shown good cause. It found that merely describing the failure as an “unintentional error” did not adequately explain the delay and did not establish good cause.

The court also declined to grant a discretionary extension based on excusable neglect. It considered the substantial delay, prejudice to Carver County, disruption of the judicial proceedings, and McCourt’s lack of diligence in correcting the mistake. Although the court found no evidence of bad faith, it concluded that the total circumstances did not justify extending the service deadline.

Disposition

Judge David S. Doty ordered that Carver County’s motion to dismiss was granted and that the complaint was dismissed without prejudice. The opinion does not decide whether McCourt’s disability-discrimination claim has merit.