Opinion
CIV. ACT. 1:21-cv-223-TFM-N
03-24-2022
MORRIS BARNES and WILLIE ASH, Plaintiffs, v. SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
TERRY F. MOORER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On December 28, 2021, the Magistrate Judge entered a Report and Recommendation which recommends the amended complaint be dismissed without prejudice against all non-appearing defendants under Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(m) for failure to timely serve. See Doc. 54. After receiving an extension, Plaintiffs timely filed their objections on February 28, 2022. See Doc. 64.
Plaintiffs object to the dismissal of the defendants, but do not substantively address Rule 4(m) or the Magistrate Judge's discussion on the failure to serve. They merely state they made many attempt to serve these defendants and that the defendants engaged in wrongful acts. See Doc. 64.
The Complaint in this case was filed on May 10, 2021 and the Amended Complaint filed on May 24, 2021. See Docs. 1, 5. Fed. R. Civ P. 4(m) states “[i]f a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court - on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff - must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made within a specified time. But, if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period.” The Court had already provided an extended Rule 4(m) deadline with two extensions. The Court also warned Plaintiffs about the failure to comply. See Docs. 12, 18. Further, Plaintiffs failed to submit sufficient proof as their various documents did not comply with the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(e). The Report and Recommendation explained this in great detail and the objections fail to offset that well-reasoned analysis. Further, the Report and Recommendation provided yet one more opportunity to remedy the deficiencies. See Doc. 54 at 7. Plaintiffs still did not heed the warning and their objections are OVERRULED.
Therefore, after due and proper consideration of all portions of this file deemed relevant to the issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the Recommendation to which objection is made, the Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the following Defendants are DISMISSED without prejudice: RCA Records, Jive RCA; Sony BMG Music; Gabriella Wilson; Keenon Daequon Ray Jackson; Bashar Barakah Jackson; Cardo Ronald Latour; Warner Music Group; Atlantic Records; Julius Dubose; Christopher Maurice Brown; Charles Carter; Elijah Dias; Roger Parker; Shawn Carter; Steven Arrington; Tiara Thomas; Wuang Hankerson; Keep Cool Records; Tunji Balogun; and David Przygoda.
This case is REFERRED BACK to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings.
DONE and ORDERED.