Source: http://mo.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20141014_0001597.EMO.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 10:15:17+00:00

Document:
REBECCA POST, et al., Defendants.
Plaintiff Jerry Russell, a security officer at the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center ("Bellefontaine"), operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, brings this action against the following current and former employees at Bellefontaine: Rebecca Post, Marcy Hargis, Laura Wayer, Charles Edward Moody, and Barbara Dahlen. (Doc. No. 13.) Plaintiff's amended complaint asserts claims of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), § 701 et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e, et seq. and deprivation of various constitutional rights, presumably under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants Moody and Dahlen have never been served in this case. Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer waived service but have moved to dismiss certain of Plaintiff's claims against them. (Doc. No. 26.) For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Moody and Dahlen shall be dismissed without prejudice for failure to timely serve these Defendants; Plaintiff's retaliation claims against all parties shall be dismissed without prejudice for failure to name the proper party; and Plaintiff's § 1983 claims for deprivation of constitutional rights against Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer shall be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim.
On July 1, 2013, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in this case. (Doc. No. 13.) Plaintiff names as Defendants Post, Hargis, Wayer, Moody, and Dahlen, all in their individual capacities. Neither the state of Missouri nor Bellefontaine is named in the suit. Defense counsel waived service of process on Post, Hargis, and Wayer, who are current employees at Bellefontaine. And on March 19, 2014, the Court ordered defense counsel to provide Plaintiff the last known address of Defendants Moody and Dahlen, former employees at Bellefontaine, so that Plaintiff could serve these Defendants. (Doc. No. 20.) Defense counsel asserts, and Plaintiff does not dispute, that defense counsel complied with the Court's order, and defense counsel has provided the Court with a copy of his March 21, 2014 letter to Plaintiff listing the last known addresses of Moody and Dahlen. ( See Doc. No. 30-1.) The record reflects that Plaintiff has never served these Defendants.
On May 19, 2014, Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's § 1983 claims against them. (Doc. No. 26.) These Defendants also seek to dismiss any claims against them under the ADA. However, notwithstanding the Court's order granting Plaintiff leave to plead an ADA claim, Plaintiff's amended complaint does not purport to assert any claim under the ADA, and Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer do not allege that Plaintiff is disabled or that he requested and was denied any reasonable accommodation. ( See Doc. No. 13 at 1, 3-6.) Because Plaintiff does not allege an ADA claim against Defendants Post, Hargis, or Wayer, the Court will only address these Defendants' motion to dismiss as it relates to Plaintiff's § 1983 claims. The motion to dismiss does not address Plaintiff's retaliation claims under Title VII. Plaintiff has not responded to the motion to dismiss, and the time to do so has expired.
On September 5, 2014, the Court ordered the Plaintiff to show cause why the claims against Defendants Moody and Dahlen should not be dismissed for failure to serve them within the 120-day time period prescribed in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), and to show cause why the claims against Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer should not be dismissed for the reasons set forth in their motion to dismiss, to which Plaintiff had not responded. (Doc. No. 28.) Plaintiff responded to the show cause order on September 17, 2014. In his response, Plaintiff requests a waiver of service upon Defendants Moody and Dahlen, and purports to attach documents reflecting his attempts to serve these Defendants. (Doc. No. 29.) The documents Plaintiff attaches to his response to the show cause order are summons issued in a different case, Case No. 4:14-cv-0000894, before Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., and to different defendants, not Defendants Moody or Dahlen. ( See id. at 2-12.) Plaintiff's response to the show cause order does not address or respond to the motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Post, Hargis, and Wayer.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), "[i]f a defendant is not served within 120 days after the complaint is filed, the court... must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made within a specified time." The Court does not have authority to waive service upon a defendant. And although the Court may extend the time for service, the plaintiff must first show good cause for the failure to serve. Kurka v. Iowa County, 628 F.3d 953, 957 (8th Cir. 2010).

References: § 701
 § 2000
 § 1983
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