El v. Commissioner of Social Security, No. 3:2017cv00743 - Document 18 (W.D. Ky. 2019)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Signed by Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings on 11/26/2019 granting 17 Motion for Reconsideration. The Clerk of Court shall prepare and issue summonses. The Clerk of Court shall mail a copy of the summonses, along with a c opy of this Order, to the Plaintiff at his last known address, DN 14 . The Plaintiff Elquan Treir El shall have 45 days from the entry of this Order to serve the summons and complaint upon the four officers as set forth in the Order by certified mail, return receipt requested; otherwise, this action will be dismissed. Plaintiff must file the proofs of service with the Court. cc: Pro se Plaintiff (RLJ) Modified on 11/27/2019 to correct clerk mistake (RLJ).
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
El v. Commissioner of Social Security Doc. 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY LOUISVILLE DIVISION ELQUAN TREIR EL Plaintiff v. Civil Action No. 3:17-CV-743-RGJ-CHL COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, NANCY BERRYHILL Defendant * * * * * MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Reconsideration (the “Motion”) [DE 17] of pro se Plaintiff Elquan Treir El (“El”). The matter is ripe. For the reasons below, the motion is GRANTED and El will have 45 days from the entry of this Order to serve the summons and complaint as set forth below. BACKGROUND El filed his complaint against the Commissioner of Social Security and paid the $400 filing fee on December 11, 2017. [DE 1]. El states in his complain that he is seeking judicial review of a decision of the Commissioner of Social Security relating to disability benefits. [Id.] After filing the complaint, El was responsible for properly serving both the summons and the complaint within 90 days. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(1) and 4(m). To effectuate service upon the Commissioner of Social Security, El was required to serve a copy of the summons and complaint upon three separate officers as set forth below. 1. Service of Process First, El had to serve a copy of the summons and complaint personally upon the United States Attorney for the judicial district in which the action is being brought (here the Western District of Kentucky) or his designated employee under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(1)(A)(i) and (ii). Dockets.Justia.com Service to the United States Attorney can also be made by certified mail, return receipt requested, Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(1)(A). The address of the United States Attorney in the Western District of Kentucky is: United States Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office, 717 West Broadway, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Second, El needed to serve a copy of the summons and complaint by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon the United States Attorney General at his or her office: Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(1)(B). Finally, El was required to serve a third copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon the Social Security Administration’s Office of General Counsel, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(2). If El’s case involves benefits under Titles II, VIII or XVI of the Social Security Act, then he was required to serve the summons and complaint upon the Office of General Counsel that is responsible for the processing and handling of litigation in the particular court jurisdiction in which the beneficiary filed the complaint. Here, for U.S. District Court in the Western District of Kentucky, that office is Office of the Regional Chief Counsel, Region V, Social Security Administration, 200 West Adams Street, 30th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-5208, under 42 U.S.C. §205(g); 20 C.F.R. §423, see also Social Security Program Operations Manual System (“POMS”), GN 03106.020, Service of Process, http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0203106020. However, if El’s cases does not involve an individual claim for benefits under Titles II, VIII, or XVI of the Social Security Act, then the summons and complaint should go to: The General Counsel, Social Security Administration, Room 617, Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. Id. Here, El’s complaint is silent as to whether it involves Titles II, VIII or XVI of the Social Security Act. [DE 1]. 2 On June 29, 2018 the Court issued an order for El to show cause why the action should not be dismissed under Rule 4(m). [DE 10]. The order stated that the docket reflected no action by El after the filing of the complaint. [Id.] 2. El’s Attempted Service of Process On July 11, 2018, El returned summons addressed to Nancy Berryhill, Acting Commissioner, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-0001. [DE 11 at 19–21]. The signature line is stamped “SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BALTIMORE, MD 21235,” and the date of delivery is stamped “DEC 16 2017.” [DE 11 at 21]. This service of process was not effective because it was addressed to Nancy Berryhill, Acting Commissioner, rather than the correct addressee as set forth above. Also on July 11, 2019, El returned summons addressed to Jefferson Session, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 2053-0001 [sic]. [DE 11 at 24]. The signature line and date of delivery are illegible. [Id.] On August 7, 2018, El returned summons addressed to “US Attorney, 717 W. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202.” [DE 13]. The delivery signature is illegible. [DE 13 at 30]. The delivery date appears to be July 16, 2018. [Id.]. The delivery address is difficult to read and appears to be “Doe Anderson 620 W Main/Atria [illegible] Greenbaum 101 S.5th St. W [illegible].” [Id.] 3. Second Show Cause Order On January 10, 2019, the Court issued a second show cause order requiring El to show cause in writing within 30 days as to the why the action should not be dismissed under Fed. Rule Civ. P. 4(m). [DE 15]. The Order advised El that failure to comply may result in dismissal. [Id.] On March 5, 2019, after no further docket activity, the Court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). [DE 16]. On 3 April 22, 2019, El moved for Reconsideration (“Motion”). [DE 17]. In the Motion, El states a timeline of his attempts at service of process. Rule 4(m) provides: If 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. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). Even if the plaintiff lacks good cause, the court may extend the time for service. Millan v. USAA Gen. Indem. Co., 546 F.3d 321, 325 (5th Cir. 2008) (citing Thompson v. Brown, 91 F.3d 20, 21 (5th Cir.1996)). Here, the service of process required of El is complicated because it requires the service of three difference officers. El has attempted to serve these officers as set forth above. As a result, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6), IT IS ORDERED as follows: 1. The Motion for Reconsideration [DE 17] is GRANTED and this action is reinstated on the Court’s active docket. 2. The Clerk of Court shall prepare and issue summons for the following: United States Attorney United States Attorney’s Office 717 West Broadway Louisville, KY 40202 United States Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Office of the Regional Chief Counsel, Region V Social Security Administration 200 West Adams Street 30th Floor Chicago, IL 60606-5208 4 The General Counsel Social Security Administration, Room 617 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235-6401 3. The Clerk of Court shall mail a copy of the above summonses, along with a copy of this Order, to the Plaintiff at his last known address [DE 14]: 15906 Morrison Preserve Dr. #4402, Charlotte, N.C. 28277. 4. The Plaintiff Elquan Treir El shall have 45 days from the entry of this Order to serve the summons and complaint upon the the four officers as set forth above by certified mail, return receipt requested; otherwise, this action will be dismissed. 5. Plaintiff must file the proofs of service with the Court. November 26, 2019 5
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
