Lucas v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 7

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 12/12/14 ORDERING Plaintiff to comply with its 12/4/14, order by submitting to the USM a completed summons and copies of the complaint and file a statement with the court saying that those documents have been submitted to the USM.(Mena-Sanchez, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JEFFREY KENT LUCAS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:14-cv-02804-AC

ORDER

CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

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Plaintiff seeks judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security

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(“Commissioner”) denying his application for period of disability and disability insurance

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benefits (“DIB”) under Title II of the Social Security Act. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff filed his

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complaint and an application to proceed in forma pauperis on December 2, 2014. ECF Nos. 1 &

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2. On December 4, 2014, the court granted plaintiff’s application and directed him to submit a

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completed summons and copies of his complaint to the United States Marshal (“USM”). ECF

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No. 3. The court also instructed plaintiff to file a statement informing the court that the

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documents had been submitted. Id.

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Instead of submitting the required summons and complaints to the USM and filing the

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appropriate statement with the court, it seems that plaintiff attempted to serve the Commissioner

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himself. See ECF No. 6 (naming “Jeffrey Kent Lucas” as the server and containing a U.S. Postal
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Service Certified Mail receipt for mail delivered to the Attorney General of the United States.). 1

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Plaintiff’s attempt to serve the Commissioner would not be problematic if he had served her

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properly; however, plaintiff’s attempt at service was improper in two ways. First, the summons

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plaintiff submitted names himself as the server. ECF No. 6. However, service cannot be made by

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a party to the litigation. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(2). Second, plaintiff seems to have neglected to

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serve both the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California and the Commissioner

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of Social Security. See ECF No. 6 at 5 (including U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail receipts for

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mail delivered to the Attorney General of the United States and the USM’s office). The Federal

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Rules require that both individuals be served in lawsuits against the United States. Fed. R. Civ. P.

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4(i)(1).

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Accordingly, the court HEREBY ORDERS that plaintiff comply with its December 4,

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2014, order by submitting to the USM a completed summons and copies of the complaint and file

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a statement with the court saying that those documents have been submitted to the USM. ECF

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No. 3. Information regarding the number of copies currently required by the United States Marshal

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may be obtained from the United States Marshals Service, 501 I Street, Suite 5600, Sacramento, CA

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95814 (tel. [phone]).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: December 12, 2014

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The court cannot construe plaintiff’s attempt at service as compliance with its December 4,
2014, order because his summons names himself as the server; which, as the court will explain, is
prohibited by the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(2).
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