FILED 

United States Court of Appeals 

Tenth Circuit 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

APR 12005 

PATRICK FISHER 

Clerk 

CHIBUEZE C. ANAEME, 

Plaintiff - Appellant, 

V. 

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF 

CORRECTIONS; JACKSONVILLE 

SHERIFF'S OFFICE; 

JACKSONVILLE POLICE 

DEPARTMENT;DUVALCOUNTY 

PRE-TRIAL DETENTION 

FACILITY; JAMES L. 

MONTGOMERY CORRECTIONAL 

FACILITY; NATHANIEL GLOVER, 

JR., individually and in his official 

capacity as Sheriff of the Jacksonville 

Sheriff's Office/Jacksonville Police 

Department; K. COPELAND, 

individually and in her official 

capacity as Lieutenant of the 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; 

OFFICER FOWLER, OFFICER 

HENDERSON, OFFICER LEONARD, 

OFFICER SMITH, OFFICER JESSE, 

OFFICER SCOTT, OFFICER JOE 

SCOTT, OFFICER WOLLITZ, 

OFFICER C. G. BLUNT, OFFICER D. 

BRANTLEY, OFFICER MESSICK, 

individually and their official 

capacities as Sergeants of the 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; 

OFFICER ROBERT, OFFICER FRED 

FLINSTONE, OFFICER R. W. 

REONAS, OFFICER M.J. POWERS, 

individually and in their official 

No. 04-2237 

(D.C. No. CIV-03-1406) 

(D.N.M.) 

Appellate Case: 04-2237 Document: 010110533883 Date Filed: 04/01/2005 Page: 1
capacities as officers of Jacksonville 

Sheriff's Office/Police Department 

and the arresting, responding and 

reporting officers; OFFICER PAGE, 

OFFICER SCHEINHOLDER, 

OFFICER AUSTIN, OFFICER J. 

GRIFFIS, OFFICER BEESON, 

OFFICER TOLLIVER, OFFICER 

MCDUFFIE, OFFICER J.M. CRUMP, 

II, OFFICER WARREN, OFFICER J. 

A. WOOD, OFFICER SALANOS, 

OFFICER GLEN, OFFICER 

CHAPPELL, OFFICER PRESCOTT, 

OFFICER R. L. GREEN, OFFICER 

BLANTON, OFFICER W. M. 

FIELDS, OFFICER CAMPBELL, 

OFFICER SANBORN, OFFICER A. 

GORDON, OFFICER T. ATTAWAY, 

OFFICER FRANCIS R. COTTON, 

OFFICER T. J. GENNELLE, 

OFFICER C. MCCRAE, OFFICER J. 

EMANUEL, OFFICER R. C. 

DICKINSON, OFFICER W. P. 

MCDONALD, OFFICER C. R. 

SCARPINATI, OFFICER M. L. 

GRADY, individually and in their 

official capacities and officers of 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; MS. 

FULSORD, MS. WILLIS, NURSE 

MA YES, NURSE PHILLIPS, P. 

BROOMFIELD, NURSE BAZELLE, 

DENISE HUNT, NURSE JENKINS, 

NURSE BROWN, NURSE RHOME, 

NELSON AGUILAR, PAC, BRENDA 

LUNA, CNP, GOODMAN, M.D., 

OFFICER ACOSTA, OFFICER 

DAWKINS, individually and in their 

official capacities as Lieutenants of 

the Jacksonville Sheriff's 

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Appellate Case: 04-2237 Document: 010110533883 Date Filed: 04/01/2005 Page: 2
Office/Montgomery Correctional 

Center; OFFICER BARRETT, 

OFFICER LEWIS, OFFICER 

ARNETT, OFFICER MANNING, 

OFFICE BROWN, OFFICER 

MCWATER, OFFICERS. WHITTY, 

OFFICER OWENS, OFFICER 

MCWATER, individually and their 

official capacities as Sergeants of the 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; 

OFFICER L. HOLSTAD, OFFICER J. 

R. LUCK, OFFICER L. ROSS, 

OFFICER W. M. CLARY, OFFICER 

V. D. PARRISH, OFFICER 

MUENCH, OFFICER WANSLEY, 

OFFICER J. CHESTNUT, OFFICER 

GILPIN, OFFICER LUCAS, 

OFFICER SMITH, OFFICER A. D. 

FLEMING, OFFICERS. MORGAN, 

OFFICER L. MALONE, OFFICER 

PARRETT, OFFICER K. B. 

ROLLYSON, OFFICER OJEDA, 

OFFICER J. M. BALDERSON, 

OFFICER RUPRIGHT, OFFICER D. 

L. PINKSTON, OFFICER R. S. 

WHITE, OFFICER T. MEANS , 

OFFICER D. MANN, OFFICER 

CONLEY, OFFICER M. MOBLEY, 

OFFICER JOHNSON, OFFICER 

PFLEINGER, OFFICER E. 

WATKINS, OFFICER D. SULLIVAN, 

OFFICER LOVINGS, OFFICER 

THOMAS, JR. , OFFICER D. 

BAILEY, OFFICER J. L. COLLINS, 

OFFICER ANDREWS, OFFICER 

SWINDLE, OFFICER JOHNSON, 

OFFICER NIPPER, OFFICER 

WILLENBRECHT, individually and in 

their official capacities as officers of 

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Appellate Case: 04-2237 Document: 010110533883 Date Filed: 04/01/2005 Page: 3
the Jacksonville Sheriff's 

Office/MCC; NURSE SMITH, 

NURSE LONG, NURSE VALARIE 

THOMPSON, NURSE JACKSON, 

NURSE MURRELL, NURSE 

HARRISON, NURSE HINES, NURSE 

JUDITH SOFFLER, individually and 

their official capacities as medical 

personnel of the Jacksonville Sheriff's 

Office/MCC; L. J. SP A TES, 

individually and in his official 

capacity as director and employee of 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office/MCC; 

STANDARD SECURITY SERVICES, 

K.DRYGEN,D.G.COLE,L. A. 

POINTE, II, JIM TAYLOR, 

individually and their official 

capacities as Lieutenant, Sergeant, 

Security Officer(s) and Officer(s) 

respectively of Standard Security 

Services, Jacksonville, Fl.; 

SMARTLOCKER;WAYNE 

GUELTOGOW, MELINDA, 

individually and in their official 

capacities as Terminal Manager and 

Customer Service 

Representative/ Agent, Greyhound Bus 

Terminal, Jacksonville, Fl., 

Defendants - Appellees. 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

• This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the 

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. This court 

generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order 

and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

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Appellate Case: 04-2237 Document: 010110533883 Date Filed: 04/01/2005 Page: 4
Before KELLY, O'BRIEN, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.** 

Mr. Chibueze Anaeme, a pro se litigant, appeals from the district court's 

sua sponte dismissal without prejudice of his civil rights claim for failure to 

prosecute because he failed to properly serve the numerous Defendants. Trial 

courts have the discretion to dismiss a case sua sponte for want of prosecution. 

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m); Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S . 626, 630-31 (1962). 

We review for an abuse of discretion. Scott v. Hern, 216 F.3d 897, 912 (10th Cir. 

2000). We affirm. 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) provides that a district court may 

dismiss a case without prejudice where service of process is not effectuated 

within 120 days of filing the complaint. Here, nearly six months passed between 

the time Mr. Anaeme filed his complaint and when the district court issued its 

notice of impending dismissal alerting Mr. Anaeme that proper service had not 

been established. Upon receiving the court's notice, Mr. Anaeme failed to 

establish proper service or any cause for why the case should be retained. 

Mr. Anaeme contends that he proceeded in the lawsuit as if he had 

** After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge 

panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material 

assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th 

Cir. R. 34.1 (G). The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

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Appellate Case: 04-2237 Document: 010110533883 Date Filed: 04/01/2005 Page: 5
effectuated proper service and filed motions pertaining to the Defendants nonresponse. He also maintains that pursuant to the district court's notice of 

impending dismissal, he called the courtroom deputy (the bottom of the form 

advises that "inquiries regarding this notice should be directed to" the named 

courtroom deputy with phone number) within the time allowed to cure the service 

problem. While this might give us pause as implying that the service problem 

could be remedied with a simple phone call, Mr. Anaeme does not so argue, nor 

does he argue that he was misled. Cf. Espinoza v. United States, 52 F.3d 838, 

842 (10th Cir. 1995) ( district court should consider the difficulties inherent in the 

service rules for prose litigants). 

AFFIRMED. 

Entered for the Court 

Paul J. Kelly, Jr. 

Circuit Judge 

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