Stafford v. Department of the Navy (DoN) Board for Correction of Naval Records et al

Filing 9

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER that the Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this Memorandum and Order together with three summons forms and three copies of USM Form 285 to Plaintiff for service of process on the United States. Plaintiff must complete the USM 285 forms to be submitted to the Clerk with the completed summons forms. Upon receipt of the completed forms, the Clerk will sign the summons forms and forward them to the Marshal for service on the United States, together with copies of the Complaint. The Clerk is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case with the following text: April 13, 2015: Check for completion of service of summons. Ordered by Senior Judge Joseph F. Bataillon. (Copy mailed to pro se party with forms as directed)(ADB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
LARRY RAY STAFFORD,
Plaintiff,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
(DON) BOARD FOR
CORRECTION OF NAVAL
RECORDS, and SECRETARY OF
THE NAVY COUNCIL OF
REVIEW BOARDS, Combat-Related
Special Compensation Branch,
Defendants.

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8:14CV279

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

Plaintiff filed his Complaint (Filing No. 1) on September 17, 2014, alleging that
various United States military agencies have wrongfully denied his requests for
combat-related special compensation. Plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in
forma pauperis in this matter. (See Filing No. 5.)
The undersigned judge questions whether jurisdiction is proper in this court and
whether Plaintiff has properly exhausted his administrative remedies. In order to
ensure a just and fair resolution of this matter, Plaintiff will be allowed to serve the
United States with process.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.

The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this Memorandum and

Order together with three summons forms and three copies of USM Form 285 to
Plaintiff for service of process on the United States. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
4(m) requires service of the complaint on a defendant within 120 days of filing the

complaint. However, Plaintiff is granted, on the court’s own motion, an extension of
time until 120 days from the date of this Memorandum and Order to complete service
of process.
2.

If requested to do so in this matter, the U.S. Marshal will serve all process

in this case without prepayment of fees from Plaintiff. In making such a request,
Plaintiff must complete the USM 285 forms to be submitted to the Clerk with the
completed summons forms. (See attached Notice for persons to be served.) Without
these forms, service of process cannot occur.
3.
Upon receipt of the completed forms, the Clerk will sign the summons
forms and forward them to the Marshal for service on the United States, together with
copies of the Complaint.
4.

The Clerk is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this

case with the following text: April 13, 2015: Check for completion of service of
summons.
DATED this 12th day of December, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

s/ Joseph F. Bataillon
Senior United States District Judge

*This opinion may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. The U.S. D is t rict Court for the District
of Nebraska does not endorse, recommend, approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they
provide on their Web sites. Likewise, the court has no agreements with any of these third parties or their Web sites.
The court accepts no resp ons ibility for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a hyperlink
ceases to work or directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the court.

2

Notice Regarding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) requires that a defendant be served with the complaint and a
summons. This is to make sure that the party you are suing has notice of the lawsuit. Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 4(i) states that to serve process on a United States agency or officer, a party must provide a
copy of the summons and complaint to: (1) the U.S. attorney for the district where the action is brought;
(2) the U.S. Attorney General at Washington, D.C.; and (3) the United States agency or officer.
In this case, Rule 4(i) means that separate copies of the summons and complaint must be served on: (1)
the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska; (2) the U.S. Attorney General in Washington, D.C.; and
(3) the agencies you are suing.
If you are proceeding in forma pauperis, you may ask the U.S. Marshal to serve process, as described in
the court’s order. You can use the addresses below to fill out the Marshal’s Form 285. Or, instead, you
may choose to serve process yourself. You can use the following addresses:
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska at:
United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska
1620 Dodge Street, Suite 1400
Omaha, NE 68102-1506
Attn: Civil Process Clerk
The Attorney General of the United States at:
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001