Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:12-CV-274(MTT)
08-17-2012
PROGRESSIVE MOUNTAIN INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. MONICA KIMBLER AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER DWAYNE OSEBOLD, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff Progressive Mountain Insurance Company has moved the Court to appoint the United States Marshals Service to effect service on Defendant Melvin Lothridge. (Doc. 6). According to the Plaintiff, Defendant Lothridge is currently incarcerated at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. The Plaintiff claims prison personnel denied its private process server access to the Defendant and that the Defendant has not returned its request for waiver of personal service. Thus, the Plaintiff claims, it is "left with little choice other than to perfect service by way of the United States Marshals Service," pursuant to Rule 4(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) ("[a]t the plaintiff's request, the court may order that service be made by a United States marshal...") (emphasis added).
The Court finds that service by a United States Marshal is not required at this time. The problem facing the Plaintiff - perfecting service on an incarcerated defendant - is not altogether unique or uncommon, and, through proper coordination with the Department of Corrections, should be resolvable. Should additional attempts to serve the Defendant prove fruitless, the Court will revisit the issue at that time. Accordingly, the motion is denied.
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MARC T. TREADWELL, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT