Moore v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 10

ORDER denying 9 Motion for Default Judgment signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 10/14/14: Plaintiff shall properly complete service of process on the Commissioner by serving the required process documents on all three entities within 30 days. (Kaminski, H)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KENNEISHA MOORE,

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No. 2:14-cv-0820-TLN-KJN PS

Plaintiff,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,

ORDER

Defendant.
On October 2, 2014, plaintiff Kenneisha Moore, proceeding without counsel, filed a

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motion for default judgment in this social security action. (ECF No. 9.) For the reasons

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discussed below, the court DENIES the motion without prejudice.

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A review of the returns of service filed by plaintiff indicates that plaintiff has not properly

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completed service of process on the Commissioner of Social Security. To properly serve the

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Commissioner with process, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require plaintiff to serve the

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following three entities/components:

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(1) The United States attorney for the district where the action is brought, i.e., the United

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States Attorney for the Eastern District of California (with an address of 501 I Street,

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Suite 10-100, Sacramento, CA 95814), by delivering copies of the process documents or

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sending copies of the process documents by registered or certified mail [See Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 4(i)(1)(A)];
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(2) The Attorney General of the United States at Washington, D.C. (with an address of 950

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Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001), by sending copies of the

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process documents by registered or certified mail [See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(1)(B)]; AND

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(3) The Commissioner of Social Security, Office of General Counsel, Region IX (with an

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address of 160 Spear Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105-1545) by sending copies

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of the process documents by registered or certified mail [See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(2)].

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Although it appears that plaintiff accomplished the third component by serving the Office of

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General Counsel, Region IX in San Francisco, California by certified mail (see ECF No. 6),1 the

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returns of service do not demonstrate proper service on the United States Attorney for the Eastern

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District of California or the Attorney General of the United States at Washington, D.C. (See

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components (1) and (2) above.) All of the three entities/components must be properly served

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before service of process can be deemed complete.
However, in light of plaintiff’s pro se status, the fact that plaintiff’s error regarding

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service of process was likely the result of inadvertent mistake, and because plaintiff has taken

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some good faith steps towards serving the Commissioner, the court finds it appropriate to grant

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plaintiff an additional 30 days to properly complete service of process on the Commissioner.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment (ECF No. 9) is denied without prejudice.

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2. Plaintiff shall properly complete service of process on the Commissioner by serving

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the required process documents on all three entities, as outlined above, within 30 days.

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The returns of service indicate that plaintiff also served the Commissioner at its Baltimore,
Maryland address by certified mail. (ECF No. 6.)
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3. Failure to properly complete service of process by the required deadline may result in

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the imposition of sanctions, including monetary sanctions and/or potential dismissal of

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the action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 14, 2014

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