Woods et al v. United States of America et al

Filing 13

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE by Magistrate Judge Stephan M. Vidmar. Plaintiffs' Show-Cause Response is due no later than January 19, 2017. (am)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
ALBERT WOODS and NARDA WOODS,
Plaintiffs,
v.

No. 16-cv-1041 LAM/SMV

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
JAMES WELLS, and JOSHUA CERNA,
Defendants.
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
THIS MATTER is before the Court sua sponte. Plaintiffs filed their Complaint on
September 20, 2016. [Doc. 1]. Plaintiffs had 90 days from filing the Complaint or until
December 19, 2016, to effect service of process. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) (2015). That date has
passed. Although Plaintiffs attempted to serve the United States via its Attorney General in
Washington, D.C., on September 27, 2016, [Doc. 5], service on the Attorney General alone is not
sufficient; the United States Attorney for the relevant district must also be served. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 4(i); Constein v. United States, 628 F.3d 1207, 1213 (10th Cir. 2010). There is no indication
on the record that Plaintiffs have served the relevant United States Attorney. Thus, Plaintiffs
have failed to effectuate timely service on the United States.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiffs show good cause why their claims
against Defendant United States should not be dismissed without prejudice for failure to comply
with the service provision of Rule 4(m). See Espinoza v. United States, 52 F.3d 838, 841 (10th
Cir. 1995). Plaintiffs must file their response no later than January 19, 2017.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________
STEPHAN M. VIDMAR
United States Magistrate Judge