CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. CV 23-4521 CBM (MRW) Date September 1, 2023 Title Trinh v. Birkholz

Present: Hon. Michael R. Wilner, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Muñoz n/a Deputy Clerk Court Reporter / Recorder Attorneys for Plaintiff: Attorneys for Defendant: n/a n/a Proceedings: ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE RE: DISMISSAL

1. This is a putative civil rights action involving inmates at the federal prison in Lompoc. (Docket # 1.) Ten inmates purport to advance a class action against the prison and various law firms regarding the enforcement / alleged breach of a settlement agreement regarding prison conditions during the Covid epidemic. 2. When they commenced this action, the inmates did not seek in forma pauperis status in the case. Rather, they paid the requisite filing fee in full. (Docket # 7.) As a result, the inmates are responsible for properly serving the complaint on the defendants. 3. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) requires that a complaint be served “within 90 days after the complaint is filed.” Failure to do so will result in dismissal of the action. Rule 4(l)(1) further states that “proof of service must be made to the court [ ] by the server’s affidavit.” 4. The docket reflects that Plaintiffs filed this complaint on June 6. The 90-day service period expires in early September. However, to date, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated service of process on any defendant. Moreover, none of the defendants has appeared in the action yet.1

1 The Court has additional concerns about the propriety of the substance of the action, and the ability of the “lead” plaintiffs to legitimately conduct a class action lawsuit in which non- lawyers would allegedly represent other inmates. However, the Court declines at present to analyze the merits of the litigation pursuant to

(e)(2) (dismissal of complaint that is “frivolous or malicious [or] fails to state a claim”) given the obvious failure to properly serve the action. CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. CV 23-4521 CBM (MRW) Date September 1, 2023 Title Trinh v. Birkholz

5. By or before September 30, Plaintiffs are ORDERED to demonstrate legitimate proof of service or to otherwise SHOW CAUSE why this action should not be dismissed for failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Failure to comply with the terms of this order may also result in a recommendation that the action be dismissed for failure to prosecute pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Proc. 41(b). Applied Underwriters, Inc. v. Lichtenegger,

(9th Cir. 2019).