Johnson v. Allen et al

Filing 29

ORDER directing plaintiff to provide the Court with a current service address for defendant Captain Cline by 8/15/2017. If plaintiff is unable to do so or requires additional time, he should file documentation describing the steps he has taken to obtain defendant Cline's current address and explain why he is unable to comply with this Order. Signed by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida. (PM) cc: plaintiff via the U.S. Mail

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1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 6 7 8 LEE PATRICK JOHNSON, Plaintiff, 9 v. 10 11 MICHAEL ALLEN, et al., CASE NO. C17-389-JLR-BAT ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO PROVIDE CURRENT SERVICE ADDRESS Defendants. 12 13 On May 19, 2017, this Court directed service of the summons and complaint upon 14 defendants Sgt. Michael Allen, Captain Cline, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph 15 Marchesano. Dkt. 22. On May 30, 2017, the summons and complaint for Captain Cline were 16 returned as undeliverable; marked “NOT HERE.” Dkt. 23. On June 1, 2017, the Court directed 17 defendants Allen and Marchesano to provide in the form of a confidential memo defendant 18 Clines’ forwarding address, or if they have no such address, to advise the Court of the same. 19 Dkt. 24. Defendants’ confidential memo advised the Court that they possess no forwarding 20 address for Captain Cline, and that no such person is presently employed or was employed by the 21 Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention during the period at issue in this case. Dkt. 28. 22 Because service has not yet been perfected, the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over defendant 23 Cline. ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO PROVIDE CURRENT SERVICE ADDRESS 1 1 Plaintiffs proceeding in forma pauperis still bear the burden of providing accurate and 2 sufficient information to effect service of the summons and complaint. When a pro se plaintiff 3 fails to provide the court with accurate and sufficient information to effect service of the 4 summons and complaint, the Court’s sua sponte dismissal of the unserved defendant is 5 appropriate. Walker v. Sumner, 14 F.3d 1415, 1421-22 (9th Cir. 1994) (quoting Puett v. 6 Blanford, 912 F.2d 270, 275 (9th Cir. 1990)), abrogated on other grounds by Sandin v. Connor, 7 515 U.S. 472 (1995). Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), if a defendant is not served within 90 8 days after the complaint is filed, the court — on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff 9 — must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made 10 within a specified time. 11 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 12 Plaintiff is directed to provide the Court with a current service address for defendant 13 Captain Cline so the Court can again attempt service by mail. This address must be provided to 14 the Court on or before August 15, 2017. If plaintiff is unable to do so or requires additional 15 time, he should file documentation describing the steps he has taken to obtain defendant Clines’ 16 current address and explain why he is unable to comply with this Order. Plaintiff is cautioned 17 that a failure to comply with this Order will result in the Court’s recommendation that the 18 defendant be dismissed from this case for failure to prosecute. 19 The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to plaintiff and to counsel for defendants. 20 DATED this 19th day of June, 2017. 21 A 22 BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA United States Magistrate Judge 23 ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO PROVIDE CURRENT SERVICE ADDRESS 2

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