Cuong Huy Dao v. M. Bravo, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants Plaintiff Cuong Huy Dao’s construed request for an extension of time to identify and serve Doe defendants. The deadline under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) is stayed until further order while the case is subject to a stay for early alternative dispute resolution.

Holdings

1. The court construed Plaintiff's filing according to the relief requested—as a request for an extension of time to identify and serve the Doe defendants under Rule 4(m), rather than according to the filing's title.
2. Good cause existed to relieve Plaintiff of the 90-day deadline under Rule 4(m) while the court-ordered stay remained in effect.
3. Plaintiff need not identify the Doe defendants while the stay is in effect; if the stay is lifted, Plaintiff may use discovery to obtain their names, subject to the court's future scheduling order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff's filing should be construed as a request for an extension of time under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m).
2. Whether good cause existed to relieve Plaintiff of the 90-day deadline to identify and serve the Doe defendants while the case was stayed.
3. Whether Plaintiff could use discovery after the stay to identify the Doe defendants.

Disposition

other