Opinion
Case No. 2:12-cv-01547-GMN-NJK
01-28-2014
PAWS UP RANCH, LLC, et al., Plaintiff(s), v. CHRISTOPHER GREEN, et al., Defendant(s).
ORDER
(Docket No. 153)
Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for a 30-day extension to conduct diligence in an attempt to serve three Defendants and/or for leave to serve those three Defendants by publication. Docket No. 153. Where good cause is shown, the time for serving the complaint is extended for an appropriate period. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). The Court finds good cause exists for the requested 30-day extension to conduct further due diligence and/or confirm that the parties already served are indeed the Defendants in this action. Accordingly, the deadline to serve Defendants Equity Financing Ltd., MKS, LLC, and Worldwide Investment, LLC is hereby EXTENDED to February 14, 2014.
The relevant standards governing this request are more fully outlined by United States District Judge Gloria M. Navarro in Docket No. 76.
Service by publication implicates a defendant's fundamental due process rights. See, e.g., Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314-15 (1950); Price v. Dunn, 787 P.2d 785, 787 (Nev. 1990). "Because of due process concerns, service by publication must be allowed only as a last resort." Board of Trustees v. Debruin Constr., Inc., 2014 WL 26184, *1 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 23, 2014). In light of Plaintiffs' request for additional time to conduct due diligence and/or confirm they have already served the correct Defendants, the request for service by publication appears premature. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED without prejudice with respect to the request to effectuate service by publication on Defendants Equity Financing Ltd., MKS, LLC, and Worldwide Investment, LLC.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge