McLeod v. F/V Icy Mist, LLC et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA
JAMES MICHAEL MCLEOD,
Plaintiff,
v.
F/V ICY MIST, LLC, et al.
Defendant.
Case No. 3:23-cv-00001-JMK
ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE & RESPONSE
On January 3, 2023, James Michael McLeod, a self-represented litigant
(“Plaintiff”) filed a Seaman’s Complaint and paid the filing fee. 	Plaintiff is entitled
to service of process by the U.S. Marshal Service, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1916.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1. 	As a Seaman, Plaintiff is not required at this time to pay the costs incurred
by the U.S. Marshal Service in serving the summons and complaint on
defendants, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1916. 	The U.S. Marshal Service fee
may be taxed as costs in this case, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1920(1) and
1921(a)(1)(A) and included in the judgment.
2. 	Plaintiff shall proceed with the steps outlined in this order to ensure that
service of process on each of the defendants is completed no later than
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ninety (90) days from the date of this order.1 	This means that no later
than 90 days from the date of this order, Plaintiff must complete initial service
of the Complaint and Summons on the defendants. 	All service shall be
made in a manner authorized by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
3. 	The Clerk of Court shall provide four summons forms to Plaintiff, as well as
four U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms (USM-285).
4. 	To complete each summons form properly, Plaintiff must include all of the
following on the form:
a. 	At the top each form, above “SUMMONS IN A CIVIL ACTION,” enter
the information as found on the first page of this order:
i. 	the name of the Court (at the very top middle of the page, after
“United States District Court for the District of Alaska”); and
ii. 	the 	parties’ 	complete 	full 	names 	(above 	Plaintiff(s) 	v.
Defendant(s), respectively); and
iii. 	the case number, after “Civil Action No.”
b. 	As 	to 	who 	the 	summons 	is 	“To,” 	Plaintiff 	should 	complete 	one
summons for each defendant. Plaintiff should write the full name and
mailing address for each defendant, if known.
1 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m).
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c. 	After the paragraph ending, “The answer or motion must be served
on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, whose name and address are” on
the summons form, enter the name and the address of the address at
which any answer or motion should be served on Plaintiff. 	If Plaintiff
retains an attorney, that attorney’s name and address information
should be entered here. 	If Plaintiff continues to be self-represented,
then his mailing address should be entered.
d. 	To complete each USM-285 form properly, Plaintiff must include all of
the following:
i. 	the 	parties’ 	complete 	full 	names 	(below 	Plaintiff(s) 	v.
Defendant(s), respectively);
ii. 	the case number, after “Court Case Number”;
iii. 	the 	defendant’s 	full 	name 	and 	address, 	in 	the 	“Serve 	At”
section;
iv. 	his address, in the Send Notice of Service Copy section;
v. 	number of process to be served (will be 1 per form) and number
of parties of parties in this case (total of defendants named);
vi. 	his signature as the plaintiff, along with his phone number, and
the date.
e. 	After Plaintiff completes the required forms, he should mail (1) each
of the completed summons forms; (2) each of the U.S. Marshal’s
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Service of Process Receipt and Return (USM-285) forms; (3) four
copies of the complaint to the Court at the following address; and
(4) four copies of this order to:
U.S. District Court
222 West 7th Avenue, #4
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
If the summons forms have been completed in the proper form, they
will then be issued by the Clerk of Court for service.
f. 	After 	issuing 	the 	summons, 	the 	Clerk 	of 	Court 	must 	send 	the
completed summons forms, completed USM-285 forms, the required
copies of the Complaint, and copies of this Order to:
United States Marshal Service
222 West 7th Avenue, Box 28
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
The U.S. Marshal shall then take all reasonable steps to promptly
effect service in this case.2
5. 	After each of the defendants have been served, the U.S. Marshals must
provide the Court with proof of service by submitting an affidavit.3 	The
2 Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) (providing “the court may order that service be made by a United
States marshal or deputy marshal or by a person specially appointed by the court. The
court must so order if the plaintiff is authorized to proceed in forma pauperis under
28 U.S.C. § 1915[.]”).
3 Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 4(l)(1).
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requirements of service are not completed until the proof of service has been
submitted to the Court within ninety (90) days of this Order.
6. 	At all times, Plaintiff shall keep the Court informed of any change of address.
Such notice shall be titled “Notice of Change of Address.”4 The notice shall
contain only information about the change of address, and its effective date.
The notice shall not include requests for any other relief. 	Failure to file the
notice may result in the dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute under
Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
7. 	After service of the Complaint, all future papers sent to the Court must be
identified with the name of the Court, the case number, the name of the
Plaintiff, the name of the first defendant, and the title of the document, as
illustrated on the first page of this order.5
8. 	Plaintiff shall serve a copy of all further filings submitted to the Court upon
each of the defendant or, if an appearance has been entered by counsel for
a defendant, on that defendant’s attorney(s).6 	Plaintiff shall include, with
any original paper filed with the Clerk of Court, a certificate stating the date
4 See Local Civil Rule 11.1(b) (requiring a notice of change of address to be filed “[s]elf-
represented parties must keep the court and other parties advised of the party’s current
address and telephone number.”). A Notice of Change of Address form, PS23, may be
obtained from the Clerk of Court, if needed.
5 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a) (“The title of the complaint must name all the parties; the title
of other pleadings, after naming the first party on each side, may refer generally to other
parties.”).
6 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.
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that an exact copy of the document was mailed to each of the defendant or
defendant’s counsel. A Certificate of Service may be written in the following
form at the end of the document:
I hereby certify that a copy of the above (name of document)
was mailed, first class, U.S. mail, to (name of opposing party or
counsel) at (address) on (date).
(Signature)
Any paper received by a District Court Judge or Magistrate Judge which
does not include a Certificate of Service indicating that each defendant was
served with a copy of that document will be disregarded by the Court.
9. 	Each litigant is responsible for keeping a copy of each document filed with
the Court. 	When a litigant mails a document to the Court, the litigant will
receive a Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”) from the Court that will indicate
when that document was filed on the docket and the docket number of the
document. Copies of documents that have been filed with the Court may be
obtained from the Clerk’s Office for $0.50 per page. In the event of special
circumstances or serious financial need, a party may file a motion asking for
the cost of copies to be waived or reduced.
10. 	No party shall have any ex parte communication with a District Court Judge
or Magistrate Judge of this Court about the merits of this action. This means
that parties cannot communicate with any judge without the presence and/or
knowledge and consent of the other parties. For example, Mr. McLeod shall
not write letters to, or call, a judge directly. 	Any request for action by the
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Court during these proceedings must be filed with the Clerk of Court as a
motion.
11. 	A motion should contain the information identified in the caption of this Order
and should be titled “Motion for (add the relief requested).” 	In a motion, a
party should state specifically and concisely what he or she wants, so that
the Court understands what the party is requesting. This Court’s Local Civil
Rule 7.1(b) requires that each motion be filed with a proposed order that the
Court can issue, if the motion is granted. The proposed order helps to clarify
what the moving party is asking the Court to do.
12. 	All 	documents 	filed 	with 	the 	Clerk 	of 	Court 	must 	contain 	an 	original
signature, and must be mailed to the Court at the following address:
U.S. District Court
222 West 7th Avenue, #4
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
13. 	The Clerk of Court is directed to send Plaintiff: (1) a copy of this order,
(2) four AO 440 summons forms, (3) four Form USM-285, (4) motion form
PS12, and (5) a copy of the Court’s pro se handbook, “Representing
Yourself in Alaska’s Federal Court.”
DATED this 10th day of January, 2023, at Anchorage, Alaska.
/s/ Joshua M. Kindred
JOSHUA M. KINDRED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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