Trueman v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department et al

Filing 13

ORDER Granting 12 Motion for Service by Publication. Proof of service due by 1/30/2016. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 12/4/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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KRISTIN TRUEMAN,
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Plaintiff(s),
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vs.
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LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE
DEPARTMENT, et al.,

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Defendant(s).

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Case No. 2:15-cv-01872-RFB-NJK
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
SERVE BY PUBLICATION
(Docket No. 12)

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time to serve Defendant John
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Bonaventura and for leave to serve him by publication. Docket No. 12. The Court finds the motion
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properly resolved without oral argument. See Local Rule 78-2. For the reasons discussed below, the
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motion to serve by publication is hereby GRANTED and the motion to extend is hereby GRANTED.
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Where good cause is shown, the time for serving the complaint is extended for an appropriate
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period. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). Service by publication implicates a defendant’s fundamental due
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process rights. See, e.g., Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314-15 (1950);
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Price v. Dunn, 787 P.2d 785, 787 (Nev. 1990). As a result, service by publication is generally
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disfavored. See, e.g., Trustees of the Nev. Resort Assoc.–Int’l Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
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& Moving Picture Machine Operators v. Alumifax, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis. 106456, *2 (D. Nev.
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July 29, 2013).
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e)(1) provides for service “pursuant to the law of the state in

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which the district court is located, or in which service is effected.” Under Nevada Rule of Civil

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Procedure (“NRCP”) 4, parties are required to personally serve summons and the complaint upon

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defendants. When personal service proves impossible, however, NRCP 4(e)(1)(i) provides that a party

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may file a motion for service by publication when the opposing party “resides out of the state, or has

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departed from the state, or cannot, after due diligence be found within the state, or by concealment seeks

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to avoid the service of summons.” When service of the summons is made by publication, the summons

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shall, in addition to any special statutory requirements, also contain a brief statement of the object of

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the action. NRCP 4(b).

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A party moving for service by publication must seek leave of court by filing an affidavit

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demonstrating she diligently attempted to serve the defendant. There are several factors courts consider

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to evaluate a party’s due diligence, including the number of attempts made to serve the defendant at his

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residence and other methods of locating defendants, such as consulting public directories and family

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members. See Price, 787 P.2d at 786-87; Abreu v. Gilmer, 985 P.2d 746, 747 (Nev. 1999); McNair v.

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Rivera, 874 P.2d 1240, 1241 (Nev. 1994).

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Here, the Court finds that Plaintiff has diligently attempted to locate Defendant Bonaventura to

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enable service. See, e.g., Docket No. 12 at 5 (affidavit detailing service attempts). Plaintiff has

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attempted to serve Defendant Bonaventura eight times. Each time, various indicia suggested someone

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was present at Defendant’s residence; however, no one answered the door. The Court will therefore

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permit Plaintiff to serve Defendant Bonaventura by publication. Because service by publication takes

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several weeks, the Court will also extend the service deadline.

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Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the motion for service by publication. The deadline to serve

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Defendant Bonaventura by publication is extended to January 30, 2016. Plaintiff shall comply with the

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requirements of Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 4 and shall:

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(a)

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Serve Defendant Bonaventura by publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the State of Nevada on a weekly basis for a period of four weeks.

(c)

After publication is complete, Plaintiff shall file an Affidavit of Publication from
the Nevada newspaper.
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For the reasons discussed above, the pending motion for service by publication is hereby

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GRANTED and the accompanying request for an extension of the Rule 4(m) deadline is hereby

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GRANTED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: December 4, 2015

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______________________________________
NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge

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