9th Circuit revived a lawsuit dismissed for improper service, ruling the district court gave plaintiffs…
Amuchie v. Mullin
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9th Circuit revived a lawsuit dismissed for improper service, ruling the district court gave plaintiffs no real chance to explain the problem before throwing out their case.
Why it matters
The Ninth Circuit vacated a district court order that dismissed a lawsuit because the plaintiffs had not properly served the defendants. The appeals court found the district court abused its discretion by requiring plaintiffs to respond to a show-cause order on the very same day it was issued, especially since plaintiffs' attorney was out of the country at the time. The case was sent back so plaintiffs can have a reasonable opportunity to address the service deficiency.
Who it affects
This ruling directly affects the plaintiffs in this case, who now get another chance to properly serve the government defendants. More broadly, it reinforces protections for any litigant who faces dismissal for a service deficiency without being given a fair and adequate opportunity to explain or fix the problem.
What happens next
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Decision issued Jul 21, 2026
Unpublished opinion
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- Decision issued Jul 21, 2026Unpublished opinion
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Jul 21, 2026 · Unpublished opinion
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DEEPER READ
Plaintiffs Emmanuel Amuchie and Nneka Okerego sued the Secretary of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service, but the district court dismissed their case because they had not properly served the defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), which generally requires service within 90 days of filing. The central question on appeal was whether the district court handled that dismissal fairly and correctly. The Ninth Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion. The core problem was that the district court issued an order requiring plaintiffs to show good cause for the service failure on the same day the order was issued, leaving no meaningful time to respond. The appeals court noted this was especially unreasonable because plaintiffs' lawyer was out of the country and the district court did not even explain what specifically was wrong with the proof of service that had been filed. The court also clarified what went wrong with service. Plaintiffs had only mailed process to one of the four addresses required when suing a federal officer, which fell short of 'substantial compliance' with the rules. However, the court noted that mailing to at least one correct address, such as the Secret Service's proper address, could constitute good cause for an extension to finish the job. Federal rules also specifically require courts to give parties a reasonable time to fix incomplete service on federal officers. On top of that, the district court never explained why a family tragedy suffered by plaintiffs' counsel did not qualify as good cause for more time. The appeals court vacated the dismissal and sent the case back to the district court with instructions to give plaintiffs a reasonable amount of time to respond to the show-cause order. The ruling does not decide whether plaintiffs will ultimately succeed in properly serving the defendants or in their underlying claims.
CITATION AND RECORD
Record source: CourtListener
NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUL 21 2026 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT EMMANUEL C. AMUCHIE, doing No. 25-5516 business as Caremax Medical; NNEKA D.C. No. CHIOMA OKEREGO, 2:25-cv-02176-RGK-PVC Plaintiffs - Appellants, MEMORANDUM* v. MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Secretary of Homeland Security; UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; DOES, 1 to 100, inclusive, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California R. Gary Klausner, District Judge, Presiding Submitted July 15, 2026** Before: BERZON, NGUYEN, and OWENS, Circuit Judges. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Plaintiffs Emmanuel C. Amuchie and Nneka Chioma Okerego appeal from the district court’s order dismissing their action for failure to serve defendants. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Reviewing for abuse of discretion, see Hason v. Med. Bd., 279 F.3d 1167, 1174 (9th Cir. 2002), we vacate and remand. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m)’s 90-day provision for service of process is “an irreducible allowance.” Henderson v. United States, 517 U.S. 654, 661 (1996). “[I]f 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 without this showing, the district court has “broad discretion . . . to extend time for service.” United States v. 2,164 Watches, More or Less Bearing a Registered Trademark of Guess?, Inc., 366 F.3d 767, 772 (9th Cir. 2004). The district court abused its discretion by requiring, absent exigent circumstances, that plaintiffs respond to the order to show cause on the same day that the court issued it. See Crowley v. Bannister, 734 F.3d 967, 975 (9th Cir. 2013) (“A district court abuses its discretion when it dismisses a complaint sua sponte for lack of service without first . . . providing an opportunity for [the plaintiff] to show good cause for the failure . . . .” (simplified) (quoting Meilleur v. Strong, 682 F.3d 56, 61 (2d Cir. 2010))). We agree with plaintiffs that this time frame was insufficient, particularly given that plaintiffs’ counsel was out of the 2 25-5516 country and the district court did not identify what specifically was deficient about plaintiffs’ proof of service. The issue was not, as the district court stated, that “one or more of [Rule 4(m)’s] time periods has not been met.” Plaintiffs provided timely proof of service with their motion to set aside the forfeiture. Rather, the issue appears to be that plaintiffs’ service was incomplete. Although we require only “substantial” compliance with Rule 4(i), DaVinci Aircraft, Inc. v. United States, 926 F.3d 1117, 1128 (9th Cir. 2019), plaintiffs did not meet this requirement by mailing process to just one of the four required addresses. By timely mailing process to the correct address for the Secret Service, see 6 C.F.R. § 5.42(a) & app. A, plaintiffs may have shown good cause for an extension of time to complete service by mail. In the context of suits against a federal officer, service on some but not all required recipients is a “specific instance of good cause.” Henderson, 517 U.S. at 663; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(4) (providing that “[t]he court must allow a party a reasonable time to cure” such deficiencies). Moreover, the district court did not explain why plaintiffs’ counsel’s family tragedy was not good cause for an extension. We generally require “some explanation . . . of why the [plaintiff’s] potentially valid reasons for good cause are rejected” given the significance of the ruling. Dexter v. Colvin, 731 F.3d 977, 981 (9th Cir. 2013). At a minimum, plaintiffs’ attempt at service constitutes excusable 3 25-5516 neglect, requiring that the district court consider whether to extend the time to complete service as an exercise of discretion. See Lemoge v. United States, 587 F.3d 1188, 1198 (9th Cir. 2009). Therefore, we vacate the district court’s order dismissing the action. On remand, the court should afford plaintiffs a reasonable amount of time to respond to the order to show cause. VACATED and REMANDED. 4 25-5516
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