Opinion ID: 1803920
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Delay in Service of Process.

Text: Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 49 governs the form, issuance, and service of an original notice. It was recently amended to add subsection (f), which provides [i]f service of the original notice is not made upon the defendant ... within [ninety] days after the petition has been filed, the court, upon motion or its own initiative after notice to the party filing the petition, shall dismiss the action without prejudice as to that defendant ... or direct an alternative time or manner of service. Iowa R. Civ. P. 49(f). Additionally, the new rule provides [i]f the party filing the papers shows good cause for the failure of service, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. Id. When the rule is read in its entirety, the phrase party filing the papers necessarily refers to the plaintiff or petitioner. See id. 49(b). One of the major changes in the new rule is the imposition of the ninety-day time period to complete service of process. The former rule contained no specific time period. The amended rule contemplates that the court take action once service has not been accomplished within ninety days from the time the petition is filed. Id. 49(f). The type of action directed by the rule is to dismiss the action without prejudice, impose alternative directions for service, or grant extension of time to complete service for an appropriate period of time. Id. Extension of time requires a showing of good cause. Id. Under the rule, the district court is required to take its action upon motion or its own initiative after notice to the party filing the petition. Id. Thus, this language permits either the plaintiff or the court to take the initiative. However, we think the rule also enables a defendant who has been served beyond the ninety-day period, in the absence of an order for an extension, to move to dismiss the petition based on unjustified delay in completing service of process. Thus, consistent with our interpretation under the former rule, rule 49(f) requires dismissal of a petition for the unjustified delay in service of process beyond ninety days, and provides for the filing of a motion to dismiss the petition. See Carroll v. Martir, 610 N.W.2d 850, 856 (Iowa 2000) (rule 49 interpreted as requiring dismissal for abusive delay). However, we think the new rule simplifies the procedure for courts to follow when confronted with a motion to dismiss for delay in service of process filed by a defendant who has been served more than ninety days after the petition was filed or beyond any extension. Under the prior rule, a two-step analysis was employed. See id. at 857. If there had been a delay in service, the court was first required to decide if the delay was presumptively abusive. Id. If abusive delay was established, the court was then required to decide if the delay was justified. Id. Under our new rule, it is no longer necessary for the court to engage in the first step of the analysis when service has not been made within ninety days and no extension was granted. By allowing the court to dismiss a petition after ninety days, the rule now establishes the standard for presumptive abuse. Thus, courts must now simply decide if the plaintiff has shown justification for the delay. We apply the good cause standard to determine justification for delay. Id. at 858. Good cause requires that [t]he plaintiff must have taken some affirmative action to effectuate service of process upon the defendant or have been prohibited, through no fault of his [or her] own, from taking such an affirmative action. Inadvertence, neglect, misunderstanding, ignorance of the rule or its burden, or half-hearted attempts at service have generally been waived as insufficient to show good cause. Moreover, intentional nonservice in order to delay the development of a civil action or to allow time for additional information to be gathered prior to `activating' the lawsuit has been held to fall short of ... good cause.... Id. (quoting Henry v. Shober, 566 N.W.2d 190, 192-93 (Iowa 1997) (quoting Vincent v. Reynolds Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 141 F.R.D. 436, 437-38 (N.D.W.Va.1992))). The district court found good cause for the delay based on the confusion over the identity of the defendant's name and the multiple efforts to accomplish service not only upon Senecaut, but later upon Senecaut III. We agree Meier made repeated efforts to serve Senecaut and, after realizing the mistaken identity, Senecaut III. We also agree that the initial confusion over the identity of the names could support some delay in service of process. However, there was no substantial evidence in the record to support the conclusion by the district court that the continued delay in service after May 1999 constituted good cause. Once Meier learned there were two Senecauts living in the Des Moines area and that the Senecaut who had been served on May 18 was not the Senecaut who was involved in the accident, Meier failed to take reasonable steps to serve the correct Senecaut. In early May 1999, the confusion in the identity of the two Senecauts was revealed and the address of the person Meier intended to serve was known. Yet, service was not completed for more than ninety days. The only explanation Meier could offer for failing to serve Senecaut III during this period of time was that the process server repeatedly found him to be absent from his home each time service was attempted. Yet, under the circumstances, this was not a satisfactory explanation. There was no evidence to even suggest Senecaut III was attempting to avoid service or was absent from his home during normal times or for unusually long periods of time. The process server essentially limited the attempts to serve Senecaut III during those times when working family members would be expected to be at work. There was no evidence of any effort by Meier to telephone Senecaut III at his home or contact him in any other way. Additionally, Meier made no effort to serve Senecaut III at his address between June 30 and August 18, 1999. Finally, Meier failed to seek directions from the court during this period of time. Under the circumstances, Meier failed to present substantial evidence of good cause. We emphasize rule 49 requires service within ninety days and requires the plaintiff to take affirmative action to obtain an extension or directions from the court if service cannot be accomplished. Meier did neither. Moreover, Meier failed to justify her inability to accomplish service of process after the confusion between the identities of the two Senecauts was clarified and she obtained the correct address for Senecaut III. See id. at 858-59 (no justification for prolonged delay in service after location of defendant was obtained). It was not enough for Meier to merely attempt service at Senecaut III's residence during times when working residents would be expected to be at work. Meier made no other efforts to accomplish service, which rendered the efforts made insufficient to justify the prolonged delay. Accordingly, the district court erred in finding good cause and in failing to dismiss the petition. Because we find the district court should have dismissed the petition based upon delay in service of process, it is unnecessary for us to address the claim involving the altered original notice.