Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-3_14-cv-00311/USCOURTS-ared-3_14-cv-00311-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Arkansas Department of Human Services
Defendant
Cindy Rowlett
Defendant
Roberta White
Plaintiff

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

JONESBORO DIVISION 

ROBERTA WHITE 

v. No. 3:14-cv-311-DPM 

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT 

PLAINTIFF 

OF HUMAN SERVICES and CINDY 

ROWLETT, Area Director DEFENDANTS 

ORDER 

Defendants' motion, NQ 10, is denied without prejudice, though service 

was defective and must be re-done. White's motion for a directed verdict, NQ 

12, is denied because she failed to serve the defendants within 120 days after 

she filed her complaint. FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m). After the deadline, she tried to 

serve, but she didn't do so correctly. She didn't serve the Director of the 

Arkansas Department of Human Services. FED. R. CIV. P. 40)(2). Though 

White is pro se, she must still follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

Ackra Direct Marketing Corp. v. Fingerhut Corp., 86 F.3d 852,856 (8th Cir. 1996). 

In the circumstances, the Court reopens and extends White's time for 

service until14 September 2015. If she does not complete good service by 

then, this case will be dismissed without prejudice. White must also file proof 

of service, so the Court will know what she has done. 

Case 3:14-cv-00311-DPM Document 14 Filed 08/17/15 Page 1 of 2
White's Title VII claim may be time-barred because she does not appear 

to have filed her complaint within ninety days of receiving her right-to-sue 

letter from the EEOC. NQ 2 at 2; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1). The Court can't 

reach this issue until there's good service. If the federal claim is untimely, 

then only a State court would have subject matter jurisdiction over White's 

remaining Arkansas Whistle Blower Act claim because the State has not 

waived sovereign immunity. ARK. CODE ANN. § 21-1-604; Faibisch v. University 

of Minnesota, 304 F.3d 797, 800 (8th Cir. 2002). 

So Ordered. 

n.P.Mai'Shanf 

United States District Judge 

-2-

Case 3:14-cv-00311-DPM Document 14 Filed 08/17/15 Page 2 of 2