Opinion
No. 08-1799.
Submitted: September 8, 2009.
Filed: October 7, 2009.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Patricia Thomas, Kansas City, MO, pro se.
Diane Peters, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO (Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., on the brief), for appellees.
Before MURPHY, COLLOTON, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
[UNPUBLISHED]
Patricia Thomas appeals the district court's dismissal without prejudice of her civil rights action and denial of her motion for default judgment. After careful review, we conclude that Thomas did not properly serve defendants, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting defendants' motion to dismiss on that basis. See Marshall v. Warwick, 155 F.3d 1027, 1030 (8th Cir. 1998) (standards of review); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(d), (e), (m); Mo.Rev. Stat. § 506.150.4. In addition, we find no abuse of discretion in the denial of default judgment. See Norsyn, Inc. v. Desai, 351 F.3d 825, 830 (8th Cir. 2003) (court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion for default judgment where defendants were never properly served, and thus had no obligation to file answer).
The Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.