Cleon Neal Jones v. Dr Ajmel Sangha MD et al

Filing 48

ORDER Directing Service. The Court directs the Government Attorney assigned to this case to contact the litigation coordinator at Centinela State Prison in order to obtain a current address for Pulido. The Court directs the Government Attorney to provide any such information to the U.S. Marshal in a confidential memorandum. The U.S. Marshal should then use that information to serve the summons and First Amended Complaint on Pulido. Signed by Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel on 3/8/17.(All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(dlg)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CLEON NEAL JONES,

Case No.: 3:14-cv-2828-GPC-PCL
Plaintiff,

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v.

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DR. AJMEL SANGHA, M.D.; K.
WYATT, RN; DR. IRENE PULIDO,
M.D.,

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ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE

Defendants.

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On March 23, 2015, the Court directed the U.S. Marshal to effect service of the

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First Amended Complaint on Irene Pulido and Ajmel Sangha. Dkt. No. 7. The summons

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as to Defendant Sangha was returned executed on June 17, 2015. Dkt. No. 14. The

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summons as to Irene Pulido, however, was returned unexecuted. Dkt. No. 15. It appears,

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from the U.S. Marshal’s records, that Pulido could not be served because she did not live

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at the disclosed address and because she had moved to an unknown location. Id.

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Almost a year later, the U.S. Marshal made yet another attempt to serve Pulido.1
See Dkt. No. 42. Again, the summons was returned unexecuted. Id. It appears from the

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It is unclear from the docket what prompted this second attempt.
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3:14-cv-2828-GPC-PCL

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U.S. Marshal’s records that the officials were yet again unable to locate Pulido, although

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they were able to make contact with an unknown individual who informed them that

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Pulido “was on maternity leave with no return date given.” Id.

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Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), “[i]f a defendant is not served within 90 days after the

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complaint is filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff—must

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dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order service be made

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within a specified time.” Here, over a year and a half have elapsed since Plaintiff filed

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his FAC and yet Pulido has never been served. Accordingly, the Court directs the

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Government Attorney assigned to this case to contact the litigation coordinator at

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Centinela State Prison in order to obtain a current address for Pulido. In the event that

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the litigation coordinator has relevant information on Pulido’s whereabouts, the Court

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directs the Government Attorney to provide any such information to the U.S. Marshal in

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a confidential memorandum. The U.S. Marshal should then use that information to serve

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the summons and First Amended Complaint on Pulido.

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If, however, Pulido is not served within ninety (90) days of this order, the Court
will dismiss the FAC against her without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 8, 2017

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3:14-cv-2828-GPC-PCL