Noh v. United States

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE JEANE HEEKYUNG NOH, CASE NO. 2:25-cv-01483-LK Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION 12 v. FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE DEFENDANTS 13 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA et al., 14 Defendants.

16 This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Jeane Heekyung Noh’s Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Service. Dkt. No. 11. She seeks additional time under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) to serve Defendants, id. at 1, who have not yet appeared in this action.

19 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) requires a plaintiff to serve defendants within 90 days of filing the complaint, absent an extension from the court. Here, Ms. Noh filed this action on August 1, 2025, Dkt. No. 1, so ample time remains to serve Defendants. Still, she requests an extension through November 30, 2025 to serve defendants and avers that the extension “will allow [her] to pursue formal service where necessary and ensure compliance with Rule 4(m).” Dkt. No. 11 at 2; see also id. (noting that she sought but has not received waivers of service from some Defendants).

3 The Court must extend the 90-day service period on a showing of good cause and, absent such a showing, retains broad discretion to dismiss the action or extend the period for service. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m); In re Sheehan, 253 F.3d 507, 512 (9th Cir. 2001). And where, as here, a party moves for an extension of time to act before the deadline has passed, the Court may grant the extension for good cause. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(A).

8 Here, the Court finds that Ms. Noh has established good cause based on her attempts to effect service and to obtain waivers of service. Dkt. No. 11 at 1–2. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Ms. Noh’s Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Service, Dkt. No. 11, and extends the deadline for her to effect service until November 30, 2025.

12 Dated this 26th day of September, 2025.

13 A 14 Lauren King United States District Judge