Stevens v. Astrue

Filing 8

ORDER directing service by USM. Signed by Magistrate Judge G. R. Smith on 5/11/2011. (loh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION
KENNETH L. STEVENS,
Plaintiff,
v.
MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
Commissioner, Social Security
Administration,
Defendant.

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Case No. CV611-015

ORDER
Seeking 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) review of the Social Security
Administration’s denial of his applications for disability and disability
insurance benefits, doc. 1, Kenneth L. Stevens successfully moved this
Court for leave to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Doc. 5. However, the Court inadvertently failed to direct Fed. R. Civ. P. 4
service upon the defendant. As a litigant proceeding IFP, Stevens is “not
responsible for the service of process. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d) (‘The
officers of the court shall issue and serve all process[.]’); Byrd v. Stone, 94
F.3d 217, 219 (6th Cir. 1996) (‘the court is obligated to issue plaintiff's
process to a United States Marshal who must in turn effectuate service

upon the defendants ... once reasonable steps have been taken to identify
for the court the defendants names in the complaint’). . . .” Crock v.
Astrue, 332 F. App’x 777, 778 (3rd Cir. 2009). Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.

4(c)(3), then, the United States Marshal shall effect service upon the
Commissioner. 1
SO ORDERED this 11th day of May, 2011.

"Ilx^

1JNTFI) STATESMAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOuThERN DISTRICT of GEORGLàI

1

Nothing, of course, prevented plaintiff’s counsel from effectuating service in the
intervening months since that Order was issued.
2