Court Opinion

ID: 9703737
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 00:06:14.761285+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:51.471523
License: Public Domain

SAYLOR, Justice, concurring.
I concur in the result based upon the plaintiffs failure to effectuate service upon the City of Philadelphia for a period of nine months. I agree with the dissent, however, that the lead opinion’s approach that “the process must be immediately and continually reissued until service is made” in order to toll the applicable period of limitations is unduly restrictive. Further, the dissenting opinion aptly points out that the legislative prescriptions for limitations periods are generally tied to the commencement of actions and not to service of process. Perhaps for this reason, many other jurisdictions, including the federal government, have relied upon rule-based mechanisms in order to encourage diligent prosecution of complaints once *399filed, without specifically modifying the tolling effect of the commencement of an action in relation to the applicable limitations periods. See, e.g., Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(m);1 Scrimer v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 998 P.2d 1190, 1193-94 (Nev. 2000). Thus, prior to incorporating a new and fairly rigorous paradigm into our decisional law, I would find it preferable to refer the matter to the Civil Procedural Rules Committee for consideration of the merits of more moderate, rule-based options.
CASTILLE and NIGRO, JJ., join this concurring opinion.

. Rule 4(m) defines the time in which service of federal process must be achieved, as follows:
If- service of the summons and complaint is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after the filing of the complaint, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative after notice to the plaintiff, shall dismiss the action without prejudice as to that defendant or direct that service be effected within a specified time; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period.