Bal v. U.S. Department of the Treasury

Background

The opinion states that the court had previously allowed John Bal to proceed without paying court fees. Because Bal was proceeding under that permission, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants.

Service deadline

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 generally requires service of the summons and complaint within 90 days after the complaint is filed. The court concluded that Bal could not have served the summons and amended complaint before the court reviewed the amended complaint and ordered that a summons be issued. The court therefore extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summons was issued. The court stated that, if the amended complaint was not served within that period, Bal should request an extension of time.

Court’s directions

For service on the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Jason E. Prince, Marshall Fields, and Charles Bishop, the Clerk of Court was instructed to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms, mark the forms for service on the United States, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the necessary paperwork.

For service on PayPal, Inc. and Robert Hurst, the Clerk was instructed to complete the service forms, issue summonses, and provide the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service.

Disposition and scope

The court entered an order of service. The opinion did not decide whether Bal’s underlying claims were legally valid, and it did not enter judgment on those claims.