Opinion
C23-5227JLR
09-13-2023
GS HOLISTIC, LLC, Plaintiff, v. BARRETT & MITCHELL ENTERPRISES INC., et al., Defendants.
ORDER
JAMES L. ROBART, United States District Judge.
Before the court is Plaintiff GS Holistic, LLC's (“GS Holistic”) motion for a 20-day extension of time to file a motion for leave to serve Defendant Timothy Mitchell by publication. (Mot. (Dkt. # 15).) Because none of the Defendants have appeared in this action, the court exercises its discretion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1 to decide this motion before the September 22, 2023 noting date. Fed.R.Civ.P. 1 (directing courts to construe the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding”). The court has reviewed GS Holistic's motion, the relevant portions of the record, and the governing law. Being fully advised, the court GRANTS the motion.
On August 22, 2023, the court granted in part GS Holistic's second motion for an extension of time to perfect service on Mr. Mitchell and ordered GS Holistic to file proof of service by no later than September 12, 2023. (8/22/23 Order (Dkt. # 12); see also 6/15/23 Order (granting GS Holistic's first motion for an extension of time).) The court further stated that failure to timely file proof of service would result in the dismissal without prejudice of GS Holistic's claims against Mr. Mitchell and that no further extensions of the deadline to serve Defendants would be granted. (8/22/23 Order at 3-4.)
Rather than timely file proof of service, however, GS Holistic filed the instant motion seeking an extension of the deadline to serve Mr. Mitchell by publication. (See Dkt.) It states that it did not realize until it received the court's September 12, 2023 order denying its motion for leave to serve a defendant by publication in a separate case that it has not complied with the requirements for service by publication in this case. (Mot. ¶ 19 (citing Order, GS Holistic, LLC v. Mitchell & Mitchell Enterprises, Inc., No. C23-5214JLR (W.D. Wash. Sept. 12, 2023), Dkt. # 17).) GS Holistic asserts that it has asked its process server for an affidavit stating the reasons the process server believes that Mr. Mitchell is avoiding service, and that it will mail the summons and complaints to Mr. Mitchell in order to comply with Washington law. (Id. ¶¶ 20-21); see RCW 4.28.100 (authorizing service by publication under certain circumstances); RCW 4.28.110 (setting forth procedural requirements for service by publication). As a result, GS Holistic now seeks a 20-day extension of the deadline to file a motion for leave to serve Mr. Mitchell by publication so that it can complete the prerequisites for such service. (Mot. ¶¶ 20-22.)
Local Civil Rule 7(j) provides that a “motion for relief from a deadline should, whenever possible, be filed sufficiently in advance of the deadline to allow the court to rule on the motion prior to the deadline.” Local Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 7(j). “Parties should not assume that the motion will be granted and must comply with the existing deadline unless the court orders otherwise.” Id. Here, GS Holistic has provided no justification for why it could not have filed a motion for leave to serve Mr. Mitchell by publication well in advance of the September 12, 2023 service deadline set in the court's August 21, 2023 order. (See generally Mot.) Nevertheless, the court will GRANT GS Holistic's motion for a 20-day extension of the deadline to file a motion for leave to serve Mr. Mitchell by publication (Dkt. # 15). GS Holistic shall file its motion and an affidavit setting forth the facts that lead it to believe that Mr. Mitchell is evading service by no later than October 2, 2023.GS Holistic is ORDERED to be mindful of the deadlines set by this court in the many cases it has filed in this District and to plan ahead in order to meet those deadlines. No further extensions of deadlines will be granted in this case.
The affiant shall attach exhibits substantiating the evidence that GS Holistic contends supports a finding that Mr. Mitchell is evading service.