CONFIDENTIAL -- NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 98-2382

___________

Tommie Bullock; Ceola Carter; Loretta *

Lourick; Seneca McIntosh; Lyndie C. *

McRoberts; Elmer Webb, Sr.; Paulette *

Williams, *

*

Appellants, *

*

v. *

*

United States of America; Jesse Brown, * On Appeal from the United States

Secretary, Department of Veterans * District Court for the

Affairs; Veterans Administration * Eastern District of Missouri.

Medical Center; Equal Employment *

Opportunity Commission; American * [To be published]

Federation of Government Employees, *

Local #3354; American Federation of *

Government Employees, Local #96, *

*

Appellees. *

___________

 Submitted: October 21 1998

 Filed: November 9, 1998

___________

Before McMILLIAN, RICHARD S. ARNOLD, and MORRIS SHEPPARD

ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.
1The Honorable Donald J. Stohr, United States District Judge for the Eastern

District of Missouri.

2The Honorable Rodney W. Sippel, United States District Judge for the Eastern

District of Missouri.

-2-

Plaintiffs appeal from the dismissal of their action without prejudice under

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). We affirm.

On August 20, 1997, Tommie Bullock, Ceola Carter, Aaron Johnson, Loretta

Lourick, Seneca McIntosh, Lyndie McRoberts, Elmer Webb, Betty Williams, and

Paulette Williams filed a pro se complaint. On January 6, the District Court1 noted

that there was no proof of service or entry of appearance for any of the defendants,

and that service of the complaint had not been made within 120 days of filing as

required by Rule 4(m). The Court ordered plaintiffs to show cause within fourteen

days why the action should not be dismissed without prejudice. On January 20, seven

of the plaintiffs--Bullock, Carter, Lourick, McIntosh, McRoberts, Webb, and Paulette

Williams--responded to the court order, asserting that they had relied upon a court

clerk’s statement that he would effect service upon defendants. The District Court2

found these plaintiffs had shown good cause for their failure to serve defendants in

time, and on March 4 granted them a twenty-day extension to effectuate service. On

March 31, the Court noted that defendants had still not been served, and dismissed

plaintiffs’ claims without prejudice.

Rule 4(m) provides that if the summons and complaint are not served upon a

defendant within 120 days after the filing of the complaint, the Court “shall dismiss
-3-

the action without prejudice . . . or direct that service be effected within a specified

time;
-4-

provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court shall extend

the time for service for an appropriate period.”

After reviewing the record and the parties’ submissions, we see no evidence

that defendants were properly served with the summons and complaint. Because over

120 days had passed since plaintiffs filed their complaint, and the District Court had

granted a twenty-day extension, we conclude the Court did not abuse its discretion

in dismissing the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(1); Moore v. Jackson, 123 F.3d

1082, 1085 (8th Cir. 1997) (per curiam) (standard of review); Systems Signs Supplies

v. United States Dep’t of Justice, 903 F.2d 1011, 1013 (5th Cir. 1990) (per curiam);

cf. Edwards v. Edwards, 754 F.2d 298, 299 (8th Cir. 1985) (per curiam) (district court

did not abuse discretion in dismissing complaint where 170 days passed after

complaint was filed and defendants had not yet been served).

If plaintiffs refile this case in the District Court, they should file their complaint

with the court clerk, from whom they should obtain summonses signed by the clerk

and under seal of the court; plaintiffs should then ensure that the summonses and a

copy of the complaint are served upon defendants in compliance with Rule 4. 

Plaintiffs’ other arguments on appeal are without merit. We also deny

plaintiffs’ pending motions.

Accordingly, we affirm.
-5-

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.