Hewes v. Gardiner

• Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Decided: December 18, 2025
• Docket: 24-1736
• Status: Published

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 24-1736

LIBBY HEWES,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

SAMANTHA PANGBURN, individually and in her official capacity as Principal, Brewer High School; MORGAN SMALL, individually and in her official capacity as coach/employee, Brewer School Department; BREWER SCHOOL DEPARTMENT; PATRICK HEALY, individually and in his official capacity as Owner and Principal, Healy Chiropractic; HEALY CHIROPRACTIC, LLC; OFFICER JOHN/JANE DOE, individually and in his/her official capacity as officer, Brewer Police Department; GREGG PALMER, in his official capacity as Superintendent, Brewer School Department; GRETCHEN GARDINER,

Defendants, Appellees,

JACQUELINE PUSHARD; PHILLIP PUSHARD; MATTHEW PUSHARD; BENJAMIN PUSHARD, in his personal and professional capacity as employee/contractor/intern/agent, Brewer School Department,

Defendants.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. Jon D. Levy, U.S. District Judge] [Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Gelpí, Kayatta, Circuit Judges, and Smith,* District Judge.

* Of the District of Rhode Island, sitting by designation. Cory R. McKenna, with whom Ezra A.R. Willey, N. Laurence Willey, Jr., Willey Law Offices, and McKenna PLLC were on brief, for appellant. Amy K. Olfene, with whom Melissa A. Hewey and Drummond Woodsum were on brief, for appellees Brewer School Department, Gregg Palmer, Gretchen Gardiner, Samantha Pangburn, and Morgan Small. Jonathan R. Liberman, with whom Judy Metcalf Law was on brief, for appellees Patrick Healy and Healy Chiropractic, LLC. John J. Wall, III, with whom Monaghan Leahy, LLP was on brief, for appellee Officer John/Jane Doe. Brett Baber and Russell Johnson Beaupain on brief for the Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project, the National Plan to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, and the Nationale Organization for Men Against Sexism, amici curiae.

December 18, 2025 GELPÍ, Circuit Judge. Ten years ago, Plaintiff-Appellant

Libby Hewes, then a thirteen-year-old middle school student in

Brewer, Maine, was drawn into a sexual relationship by a

twenty-year-old man, Defendant Benjamin Pushard, who worked as a

coach in her school system. Over the course of approximately two

years, Pushard sexually assaulted Hewes repeatedly.1 Toward the

end of that period, rumors about the unlawful relationship began

circulating at Hewes’s high school. Those rumors -- and the

school’s response to them -- are at the heart of this appeal.

Now an adult, Hewes sued numerous defendants

-- including current and former employees of the Brewer School

Department -- seeking relief for the sexual abuse she endured.

She claims that school employees knew about the sexual abuse but

failed to protect her, in violation of the U.S. Constitution,

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Maine tort law, the

Maine Constitution, and the Maine Civil Rights Act. The issue in

this case has, since its inception, centered on Hewes's purported

entitlement to hold multiple defendants liable for the harm she

suffered.

"In 2023, [Benjamin] Pushard pleaded guilty in state 1

court to crimes including unlawful sexual contact and gross sexual assault for his involvement with Hewes." Hewes v. Pangburn, No. 1:21-cv-125-JDL, 2024 WL 1996159, at *1, n.2 (D. Me. May 5, 2024).

- 3 - The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine

rejected all of her claims at different stages of litigation. Now

before us, Hewes cries foul. She contends, among other things,

that the district court erred in dismissing four claims for failure

to state a claim and in disposing of one claim at the summary

judgment stage. She also appeals from the district court's rulings

on motions pertaining to a police officer from the Brewer Police

Department, whom Hewes unsuccessfully attempted to add to the

lawsuit.

While we are mindful of the sensitive nature of Hewes's

lawsuit, the law compels us to agree with the district court's

disposition on all fronts. We therefore affirm the judgment below.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

We set the stage by rehearsing the facts of the case.

Because this appeal arises mainly from the district court's

dismissal of Hewes's claims at the motion to dismiss stage, except

where otherwise noted, "we recount the facts as alleged in the

operative complaints." In re Loestrin 24 Fe Antitrust Litig., 814

F.3d 538, 545 (1st Cir. 2016) (citation modified).

In April 2014, Hewes was thirteen years old and

struggling with her mental health. She communicated daily about

her struggles with Defendant-Appellee Morgan Small, a coach of the

junior varsity softball team at Brewer High School. During these

- 4 - conversations, Small told Hewes about someone she previously

dated, Defendant Benjamin Pushard, then a trainee, intern,

employee, agent, or contractor with the Brewer School Department

through Defendant-Appellee Healy Chiropractic, LLC. Though

Pushard was not a mental health therapist, Small told Hewes that

Pushard was a "helpful and kind person and could possibly help"

Hewes cope with her mental health struggles. So, following Small's

advice, Hewes befriended Pushard on the social media application

Snapchat.

At the inception, Hewes communicated with Pushard about

her mental health. Over time, however, their conversations shifted

to flirtation. A month after their initial conversation, Hewes

and Pushard met in person for the first time. Three months later,

in April 2015, Pushard, then twenty years old, engaged in sexual

contact with Hewes -- who was still only thirteen years old. The

sexual contact continued for two years.

During those two years, in the summer of 2016, Pushard

sexually assaulted Hewes in the parking lot of the local

Conservation Club after dark. An officer from the Brewer Police

Department, Officer Doe, was on shift patrolling the Conservation

Club and encountered them in the parking lot moments after the

assault. Officer Doe asked Pushard why he, an adult man, was with

a female minor. Pushard informed Officer Doe that Hewes's parents

knew where she was and that they were just leaving the Conservation

- 5 - Club. Officer Doe then bid them good night and left without taking

any further action.

Afraid of going to prison, Pushard asked Hewes to lie

about their relationship for almost two years. Hewes, as a result,

kept their relationship a secret to protect him. But in April

2017, a month before Hewes ended the relationship, rumors about

her involvement with Pushard were circulating Brewer High School,

where she was a sophomore. One day, a classmate told Hewes to "go

f*** [her] 22-year-old boyfriend." Upset and afraid that Pushard

would get in trouble, Hewes immediately went to speak with the

high school principal, Defendant-Appellee Samantha Pangburn.

During the meeting with Pangburn, Hewes expressed

concern about the comment and explained that it was false. She

also said that she did not know Pushard well, and that she did not

know why her classmates were spreading rumors. As shown by the

summary judgment record, Pangburn believed Hewes, partly because

Hewes said she liked a classmate and did not want him to think she

had a boyfriend. Hewes also asked Pangburn if she had heard the

rumor, to which Pangburn replied she had not. Pangburn said that

she would "keep an ear out," and if she heard any rumors she would

"squash" them.

Pangburn followed up on her conversation with Hewes by

discussing it with the Athletic Director's secretary. The

secretary knew Pushard personally and said he would never do

- 6 - anything like what the rumors claimed. After this conversation,

Pangburn took no further action and she did not notify

Defendant-Appellee Gregg Palmer, the Superintendent of the Brewer

School Department, or Defendant-Appellee Gretchen Gardiner, the

Title IX/Affirmative Action Officer of the Brewer School

Department, about her conversation with Hewes. In May 2017, Hewes

ended her relationship with Pushard. Four years later, in May

2021, she filed this lawsuit.

B. Procedural History

Hewes sued several employees of the Brewer School

District, including (1) Superintendent Palmer, (2) Gardiner, the

Title IX/Affirmative Action Officer, (3) Principal Pangburn, and

(4) Coach Small (collectively, "School Defendants"). She also

sued the Brewer School Department and Officer Doe from the Brewer

Police Department.2

2Additionally, Hewes sued Benjamin Pushard, Jacqueline Pushard, Phillip Pushard, Matthew Pushard, Patrick Healy, and Healy Chiropractic, LLC. Hewes and Benjamin Pushard entered into a Pierringer release, which included settlement terms and a stipulated judgment. The Pierringer release also released Jacqueline Pushard, Phillip Pushard, and Matthew Pushard, who were dismissed from the suit pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2). As to the remaining defendants, Patrick Healy and Healy Chiropractic, Hewes did not develop any argument challenging their dismissal by the district court. Ordinarily, "issues adverted to in a perfunctory manner, unaccompanied by some effort at developed argumentation, are deemed waived." United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st Cir. 1990). In her reply brief, Hewes contends that she did not waive her arguments against Patrick Healy or Healy Chiropractic. She points to pages 2, 6, 14, and 28 of her opening - 7 - Hewes's amended complaint brings claims under 42 U.S.C.

§ 1983 (Counts I-III), Title IX of the Education Amendments of

1972 (Counts VII-X), Maine tort law (Counts IV-VI, XI-XIII, XVII),

the Maine Constitution (Counts XIV, XV, and XVIII), and the Maine

Civil Rights Act (Count XVI). At the pleading stage, the district

court dismissed many of these claims and several defendants. See

Hewes v. Pangburn, No. 1:21-cv-125-JDL, 2022 WL 823924, at *1

(D. Me. Mar. 18, 2022). The surviving claims proceeded through

discovery, but the district court disposed of them at summary

judgment. See Hewes v. Pangburn, 2024 WL 1996159, at *1. Hewes

brief. Page 2 "lists as an issue whether it was error for the court to grant summary judgment to the Healy Defendants," while page 6 "outlines that the district court granted" the Healy Defendants' motion for summary judgment. On page 14, the brief addresses the district court's determination "that there was a lack of evidence establishing Pushard was associated with the Brewer School Department and/or the Healy Defendants as a volunteer and/or employee in 2017." And on page 28, Hewes states that "Pushard was at all times working for the Brewer School Department as either a student trainee, employee, agent and/or contractor, directly or indirectly through Healy Chiropractic and or Patrick Healy." These statements are not sufficient to escape the application of our well-established waiver principles. See Zannino, 895 F.2d at 17 ("It is not enough merely to mention a possible argument in the most skeletal way, leaving the court to do counsel’s work, create the ossature for the argument, and put flesh on its bones."); see also Tutor Perini Corp. v. Banc of Am. Sec. LLC, 842 F.3d 71, 96 (1st Cir. 2016) (finding waiver where appellant's opening brief argues that the district court erred in dismissing a claim, but "its appellate papers never explain how this is so"). As such, we deem the arguments as to Patrick Healy and Healy Chiropractic waived.

- 8 - now appeals from four orders and judgments of the district court.3

We discuss the remaining procedural history only as it pertains to

the appealed and properly argued claims against the School

Defendants, the Brewer School Department, and Officer Doe that are

before us.

1. The School Defendants and the Brewer School Department

Hewes brought seventeen counts (Counts I-X, and

XII-XVIII) against the School Defendants and the Brewer School

Department, and one count (Count XI) against the same group,

excluding Small. They moved to dismiss all claims brought against

them for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court granted the motions in

part and denied the motions in part.4

Three claims survived the motion to dismiss stage: (1)

a § 1983 state-created danger claim against Pangburn for violation

of Hewes’s autonomy and bodily integrity (Count I); (2) a Title IX

3Hewes appeals two orders on motions to dismiss, one order on a motion for enlargement of time to complete service, one order on a motion to amend the complaint, and one order on motions for summary judgment. 4The Court granted the motions on Count I as to Small, Counts II-XVIII as to the School Defendants, and Counts I-VI, VIII-IX, and XI-XVIII as to the Brewer School Department. It denied the motions on Count I as to Pangburn, and on Counts VII and X as to the Brewer School Department. Hewes also named Palmer and Gardiner as defendants to the suit. Because she sued Palmer and Gardiner in their professional capacities, the district court construed the claims against them as against the Brewer School Department. See generally, Hewes v. Pangburn, 2022 WL 823924.

- 9 - deliberate indifference claim against the Brewer School Department

(Count VII); and (3) a Title IX retaliation claim against the

Brewer School Department (Count X).5 After discovery, Pangburn

and the Brewer School Department filed a joint motion for summary

judgment on all three claims. The district court granted the

motion.

2. Officer Doe

Hewes brought claims in Counts I-III, V, and XII-XVII

against the officer who encountered her with Pushard in the parking

lot of the Conservation Club. Because she did not know the

officer's identity, she named him as Officer Doe in the amended

complaint. On July 12, 2021, two months after Hewes filed the

lawsuit, Officer Doe moved to dismiss the claims against him for

lack of personal jurisdiction due to insufficient service of

process. He argued that Hewes failed to effectuate service of

process consistent with either Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

4(e) or with Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d)(1).

On July 30, 2021, Hewes filed a motion to extend and

enlarge the time to complete service ("motion to extend and

enlarge"), asking for another 90 days to identify Officer Doe and

serve him with process. On August 30, 2021, the district court

5We are aware that this and other district court orders involved additional defendants, including Patrick Healy and Healy Chiropractic, LLC. But they are not at issue in this appeal, see supra note 2, so we need not discuss them.

- 10 - addressed both motions in a single order. It granted Officer Doe's

motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and denied

Hewes's motion to extend and enlarge because she had neither

identified nor properly served Officer Doe. But the district court

noted that if Hewes identified Officer Doe during discovery, she

could "then seek to add him/her as a defendant at that time."

Hewes v. Pushard, No. 1:21-cv-125-DBH, 2021 WL 3863337, at *1

(D. Me. Aug. 30, 2021).

After the district court ruled on the motions to dismiss,

a magistrate judge set a deadline of June 21, 2022 to amend the

pleadings or join additional parties. That deadline was later

extended to October 5, 2022. In April 2023 -- almost two years

after filing the lawsuit, and six months after the extended

deadline to join a party -- Hewes moved to amend the complaint

again, alleging she had recently identified Officer Doe as Officer

Ryan Freeman of the Brewer Police Department. She argued that

leave to amend should be granted because the Brewer Police

Department and Officer Freeman knew Pushard and his family and

intentionally hid the identity of Officer Freeman.

The district court denied Hewes's motion to amend the

complaint. It reasoned that the "deadline set by the Scheduling

Order to amend the pleadings ha[d] long since expired, and the

parties [were] on the precipice of summary judgment motions and

briefing." Hewes v. Pangburn, No. 1:21-cv-125-JDL, 2023 WL

- 11 - 3550702, at *3 (D. Me. May 18, 2023). For that reason, the district

court said that allowing Hewes to amend the complaint "would

invariably delay the completion of this case by requiring the

reopening of discovery and, possibly, permitting a round of

preliminary motions before the case would again be in a position

to be considered under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56." Id. Thus, "even

though there is no indication that Hewes engaged in dilatory

conduct, allowing [her] to amend her Complaint at this juncture

would unjustifiably delay the matter and unduly prejudice the

Defendants." Id.

II. DISCUSSION

Hewes challenges several of the district court's

decisions on appeal. First, she claims the district court erred

by granting summary judgment on the Title IX claim that she brought

under a theory of deliberate indifference (Count VII). Second,

she asserts the district court erred in dismissing her § 1983

claims for violation of her right to autonomy and bodily integrity

(Count I), due process (Count II), and equal protection

(Count III), as well as her Title IX claim for intentional

sex-based discrimination (Count VIII) under Rule 12(b)(6). Third,

Hewes challenges the district court's decisions to grant Officer

Doe's motion to dismiss and deny her motion to extend and enlarge.

Finally, she argues that the district court erred in denying her

motion to amend the complaint.

- 12 - We begin by reviewing Hewes's § 1983 claims

(Counts I-III), which were dismissed at the pleading stage. We

then turn to Hewes's Title IX deliberate indifference claim

(Count VII) and intentional discrimination claim (Count VIII),

which were disposed of at summary judgment and at the pleading

stage, respectively. We conclude by addressing the district

court's decisions on Hewes's attempts to serve Officer Doe and

amend her complaint.

A. The § 1983 Claims

As stated above, the district court dismissed Hewes's

§ 1983 claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). This

Court reviews a district court's grant of a motion to dismiss de

novo. Wadsworth v. Nguyen, 129 F.4th 38, 61 (1st Cir. 2025)

(citation omitted). In assessing whether a complaint can withstand

a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, we "accept as true all well-pleaded facts,

indulging all reasonable inferences in [the plaintiff's] favor."

Lavigne v. Great Salt Bay Cmty. Sch. Bd., 146 F.4th 115, 123 (1st

Cir. 2025) (citation modified).

"The propriety of dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) turns on

the complaint's compliance with Rule 8(a)(2)." Thornton v. Ipsen

Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., 126 F.4th 76, 80 (1st Cir. 2025)

(citation modified). Rule 8(a)(2), in turn, requires "a short and

plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled

to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (citation modified). Under

- 13 - this pleading standard, a complaint must include "enough facts to

state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl.

Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007).

"A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff

pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable

inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged."

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). A plaintiff need not

include "detailed factual allegations," but Rule 8 requires "more

than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me

accusation." Id. (citations omitted). "[A] formulaic recitation

of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. "Nor does

a complaint suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of

further factual enhancement." Id. (citation modified).

"Federal law creates a cause of action under 42 U.S.C.

§ 1983, which allows a plaintiff to sue persons acting under color

of state law for constitutional transgressions or other violations

of federal law." Martin v. Somerset Cnty., 86 F.4th 938, 943 (1st

Cir. 2023); see also Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs of Bryan Cnty. v. Brown,

520 U.S. 397, 403 (1997). To prevail on a § 1983 claim, the

plaintiff must demonstrate (1) conduct by a person, (2) acting

under color of state law, (3) who caused (4) a deprivation of the

plaintiff's federally protected rights. See West v. Atkins, 487

U.S. 42, 48 (1988). The element of causation is "similar to that

of ordinary tort law." Maldonado Santiago v. Velazquez Garcia,

- 14 - 821 F.2d 822, 831 (1st Cir. 1987). This requirement

"restricts . . . liability to those whose conduct, beyond falling

within the infinite causal web leading to an injury, was a legally

significant cause." Rodriguez-Cirilo v. Garcia, 115 F.3d 50, 52

(1st Cir. 1997).

When pursuing a § 1983 claim against a municipality,

municipal entity, or municipal employee in their official

capacity, as here, the plaintiff must also show that the

deprivation of the federally protected right resulted from the

enforcement of a municipal policy, practice, or custom. See Monell

v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690 n.55, 694 (1978); see

also Fitzgerald v. Barnstable Sch. Comm., 555 U.S. 246, 257-58

(2009) ("A plaintiff stating a similar claim via

§ 1983 . . . [against] a school district or other municipal entity

must show that the harassment was the result of municipal custom,

policy, or practice.").

Hewes appeals from the district court's dismissal of

three claims under § 1983 pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6): (1) the

autonomy and bodily injury claim in Count I; (2) the due process

claim in Count II; and (3) the equal protection claim in Count III.

We first address Counts I and II, as both claims sound under the

Due Process Clause, and then turn to Count III.

- 15 - 1. The Due Process Claims (Counts I-II)

Counts I and II fall under the Due Process Clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment.6 Because Hewes points to identical factual

allegations to support these two claims in her appellate briefing,

we analyze them together. The Due Process Clause prohibits states

from depriving "any person of life, liberty, or property, without

due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. To establish

a due process claim, Hewes must not only show a deprivation of a

protected interest in life, liberty, or property, but also

demonstrate that the deprivation "was caused by governmental

conduct." Doe v. City of Boston, 145 F.4th 142, 150 (1st Cir.

2025) (citation omitted).

Hewes claims that she was deprived of her substantive

due process right of bodily integrity. This right is

well-established. Wadsworth, 129 F.4th at 51. The dispute here

Count I asserts a right under the Fourth and Fourteenth 6

Amendments to autonomy and bodily integrity. However, the district court analyzed this claim solely as a Fourteenth Amendment claim, noting that the amended complaint alleged no facts regarding an unlawful search or seizure. The district court also noted that Hewes provided no support for "her argument that the Fourth Amendment provides a right to bodily autonomy and integrity." Hewes v. Pangburn, 2022 WL 823924, at *4. Because Hewes does not argue that this conclusion was an error or discuss the Fourth Amendment at all in her brief, we follow the district court's lead in treating Count I as a due process claim only. Count II is labeled as a due process claim, but it is not clear whether it is a procedural or substantive due process claim. If it is a substantive due process claim, the amended complaint does not explain what fundamental right is at issue.

- 16 - is whether any governmental conduct caused a deprivation of this

protected right. Although Hewes initially brought the autonomy

and bodily injury claim against multiple defendants, she only

challenges the district court's dismissal as to Small and the

Brewer School Department. In doing so, she cabins her challenge

under two theories: one applicable to Small, and the other

applicable to the Brewer School Department, even though her

complaint does not so specify. As to the Brewer School Department,

Hewes argues that the district court incorrectly dismissed Count I

under the failure to train or supervise doctrine.7 As to Small,

In her brief, Hewes initially asserts that the district 7

court dismissed her failure to train or supervise claim against both the Brewer School Department and Small because "in the court's view," she "failed to allege facts to support a plausible failure-to-train-and-supervise claim against the [Brewer School] Department . . . ." Hewes later says that she alleged "facts to support a plausible failure-to-train-and-supervise claim against the Department or Pangburn, contrary to the district court's findings." But Hewes did not raise a failure to train or supervise claim against Pangburn before the district court, so it is waived. See Iverson v. City of Boston, 452 F.3d 94, 102 (1st Cir. 2006) ("[T]heories not squarely and timely raised in the trial court cannot be pursued for the first time on appeal."). And since we treat Counts I and II as duplicative, we also treat Count II against Pangburn as waived. If Hewes intended to name Small rather than Pangburn, she misreads the record. The district court's dismissal of the failure to train or supervise claim applied only against the Brewer School Department, not against Small. When the district court dismissed Count I against Small, it did so only under the state- created danger theory, not under the failure to train or supervise theory. This is so for one simple reason: the failure to train or supervise claim is inapplicable against employees with no supervisory or training responsibilities. The amended complaint simply alleges that Small coached the Brewer High School's junior varsity softball team. Because Small did not supervise or train - 17 - Hewes contends that the district court erred in dismissing the

same claim under the state-created danger theory. We address each

contention in turn, explaining along the way the district court's

rationale for dismissing each appealed count.

a. The Failure to Train or Supervise Claim

Hewes challenges the district court's dismissal of her

autonomy and bodily injury claim under the theory of failure to

train or supervise against the Brewer School Department. She rests

her contention on the grounds that the amended complaint alleges

the Brewer School Department failed to fulfill its obligations

under its own Affirmative Action Plan, which lays out, among other

things, its policies on sexual harassment of students, including

the definition of sexual harassment and the complaint and

investigation process.8

In dismissing Hewes's failure to train or supervise

claim, the district court held that her factual allegations were

conclusory and vague and thus could not support a plausible claim.

school employees, the failure to train or supervise doctrine cannot be applied against her. We therefore limit our discussion of the district court's dismissal of the failure to train claim as applied to the Brewer School Department only. 8 "On a motion to dismiss, we may also consider 'documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, matters of public record, and other matters susceptible to judicial notice.'" Squeri v. Mount Ida Coll., 954 F.3d 56, 61 (1st Cir. 2020) (quoting Lydon v. Local 103, Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, 770 F.3d 48, 53 (1st Cir. 2014)).

- 18 - The district court further concluded that the amended complaint

did not allege facts indicating that the Brewer School Department

failed to adequately train its employees. We agree with the

district court.

As discussed above, a municipal entity is only liable

under § 1983 when a plaintiff's injury was caused by a

municipality's policy, practice, or custom. See Monell, 436 U.S.

at 694. Within these constraints, a "municipality's culpability

for a deprivation of rights is at its most tenuous where a claim

turns on a failure to train." Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51,

61 (2011). "In limited circumstances, a local government's

decision not to train certain employees about their legal duty to

avoid violating citizens' rights may rise to the level of an

official government policy for purposes of § 1983." Id.; see also

Jones v. City of Boston, 752 F.3d 38, 59 (1st Cir. 2014) (stating

that the "failure to train theory offers a way for plaintiffs to

hold a municipality liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the acts of

its employees.").

Under this doctrine, the plaintiff must first identify

a constitutional violation and then show "that the violation was

the direct result of poor training or supervision of municipal

employees." Jones, 752 F.3d at 59 (citation modified). But it is

not enough "to prove that an injury or accident could have been

avoided if [a municipal employee] had had better or more training,

- 19 - sufficient to equip him to avoid the particular injury-causing

conduct." City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 391 (1989).

The plaintiff must also show "that municipal decisionmakers either

knew or should have known that training was inadequate but

nonetheless exhibited deliberate indifference to the

unconstitutional effects of those inadequacies." Haley v. City of

Boston, 657 F.3d 39, 52 (1st Cir. 2011). This deliberate

indifference standard is "stringent." Bannon v. Godin, 99 F.4th

63, 88 (1st Cir. 2024). The knowledge necessary to show deliberate

indifference "can be imputed to a municipality through a pattern

of prior constitutional violations" or, "in very rare cases," from

a single constitutional violation if "the violation of a federal

right is a highly predictable consequence of a failure to equip

governmental actors with specific tools to handle recurring

situations." Wadsworth, 129 F.4th at 68 (citation modified).

Even accepting Hewes's allegations that the Brewer

School Department did not disseminate required information on

sexual harassment to employees and did not implement the

Affirmative Action Plan, her failure to train or supervise claim

fails because Hewes has not alleged any facts suggesting deliberate

indifference. She has not alleged that there was a pattern of

prior cases in which school employees sexually harassed students,

other employees failed to report such abuse, or administrators

failed to investigate such reports. Nor has she "explained how

- 20 - these circumstances fit within the rare category where a plaintiff

need not point to a pattern of prior violations." Id. at 69. Even

if the Brewer School Department had no Affirmative Action Plan at

all, it does not seem that this would obviously lead to sexual

harassment of students by school employees or cause other staff to

fail to report or respond to such abuse. See id. It is implausible

to think that absent express direction by the school, any staff

would think it was unobjectionable for an adult staff member to

have sex with a young teenager. Cf. Connick, 563 U.S. at 66

(noting the existing knowledge of prosecutors meant that

"recurring constitutional violations were not the obvious

consequence of failing to provide . . . training about how to obey

that law." (citation modified)). We thus affirm the district

court's dismissal of Hewes's autonomy and bodily injury claim.

And, since Hewes repeats the same arguments in

challenging the district court's dismissal of her broad due process

claim in Count II, we need not belabor the obvious. For the same

reasons, we dismiss her due process claim.9

b. The State-Created Danger Claim

The district court dismissed the state-created danger

claim against Small because Hewes did "not provide any factual

9 See Lee-Crespo v. Schering-Plough Del Caribe Inc., 354 F.3d 34, 47 (1st Cir. 2003) (affirming dismissal of multiple claims on the same grounds).

- 21 - allegation to establish a nexus between Small's employment with

the Department and Pushard's alleged abuse of Hewes, which is

necessary to show that Small acted under the color of law." Hewes

v. Pangburn, 2022 WL 823924, at *4. The district court reasoned

that the complaint simply alleged that Small and Hewes had a

personal relationship unconnected to Small's role as a coach with

the Brewer School Department. Hewes contends, however, that there

was a nexus between Small's employment and Pushard's sexual abuse

because Small was Hewes's coach at school, Small advised Hewes to

seek mental health advice from Pushard, and this connection was

the genesis of the sexual abuse.

Hewes further argues that Small should be held liable

because she had direct oversight of students involved with the

Brewer School Department, she was acting under color of state law,

and because, based "on Small's insistence," Hewes "became friends

with Pushard." Hewes presses that Small knew of Pushard's sexual

abuse because he gave Hewes a ride home after a softball practice

and the team, including Small, saw Hewes get in the car with him.

Yet, Small did not report it to school officials. Hewes asserts

that, construing the facts in the light most favorable to her, the

complaint alleged sufficient facts to establish a nexus between

Small's employment and the sexual abuse.

- 22 - We reject her contentions and agree with the district

court's decision to dismiss Count I against Small, though for

different reasons.10

While the Supreme Court has said that in general, "a State's failure to protect an individual against private violence simply does not constitute a violation of the Due Process Clause," it has also suggested that when the state creates the danger to an individual, an affirmative duty to protect might arise.

Irish v. Fowler, 979 F.3d 65, 73 (1st Cir. 2020) (quoting DeShaney

v. Winnebago Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 197 (1989)).

Courts of appeal describe this principle as the state-created

danger doctrine.11 Id.

[T]o state such a claim, a plaintiff must show: (1) that a state actor or state actors affirmatively acted to create or enhance a danger to the plaintiff; (2) that the act or acts created or enhanced a danger specific to the plaintiff and distinct from the danger to the general public; (3) that the act or acts caused the plaintiff's harm; and (4) that the state actor's conduct, when viewed in total, shocks the conscience.

Doe v. City of Boston, 145 F.4th at 151. In confronting

allegations under the state-created danger theory, "courts must be

careful to distinguish between conventional torts and

In so doing, we assume -- without deciding -- that 10

Small was acting under color of state law during her interactions with Hewes. This Court first recognized the state-created danger 11

theory in 2020 in Irish v. Fowler, joining nine other federal circuits. 979 F.3d at 67.

- 23 - constitutional violations, as well as between state inaction and

action." Rivera v. Rhode Island, 402 F.3d 27, 36 (1st Cir. 2005)

(quoting Soto v. Flores, 103 F.3d 1056, 1064 (1st Cir. 1997)).

In this case, the amended complaint alleges sufficient

facts to satisfy the first two elements of the state-created danger

claim. But Hewes failed to allege facts showing that Small's

conduct proximately caused Hewes's sexual abuse. Moreover, the

factual allegations in the amended complaint fall short of

demonstrating that Small's conduct shocks the conscience.

We begin with the third element, proximate causation.

To make out a state-created danger claim, a "plaintiff must show

that the defendant's actions were both the but-for and proximate

cause of his or her injury." Cohen ex rel. Cohen v. City of

Portland, 110 F.4th 400, 406-07 (1st Cir. 2024). A § 1983

defendant may be held liable for "those consequences attributable

to reasonably foreseeable intervening forces, including acts of

third parties." Gutierrez-Rodriguez v. Cartagena, 882 F.2d 553,

561 (1st Cir. 1989) (citation modified). The facts underlying

Hewes's autonomy and bodily injury claim do not suggest that Small

should have reasonably foreseen that, because she encouraged Hewes

to reach out to Pushard, he would sexually abuse Hewes. Though

Small's advice was the genesis of Pushard's abuse of Hewes, the

amended complaint did not allege facts plausibly demonstrating

- 24 - that, at the time, Small knew her advice would create a substantial

danger to Hewes.

We turn to the fourth element of the state-created danger

claim: that is, whether Small's conduct shocks the conscience. To

shock the conscience, the state action must be both egregious and

outrageous. See Irish v. Maine, 849 F.3d 521, 526 (1st Cir. 2017).

"[C]onduct 'most likely to rise to the conscience-shocking level'

is 'conduct intended to injure in some way unjustifiable by any

government interest.'" Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 273

(1st Cir. 2009) (quoting Chavez v. Martinez, 538 U.S. 760, 775

(2003)). The burden to show such conduct "is extremely high,

requiring stunning evidence of arbitrariness and caprice that

extends beyond mere violations of state law, even violations

resulting from bad faith to something more egregious and more

extreme." J.R. v. Gloria, 593 F.3d 73, 80 (1st Cir. 2010)

(citation modified).

"Where officials have the opportunity to make unhurried

judgments, deliberate indifference may shock the conscience,

particularly where the state official performs multiple acts of

indifference to a rising risk of acute and severe danger." Irish

v. Fowler, 979 F.3d at 75. "At a bare minimum," deliberate

indifference that shocks the conscience requires the plaintiff to

allege that the "the defendant actually knew of a substantial risk

- 25 - of serious harm and disregarded that risk." Id. (citation

modified).

Here, the amended complaint alleges that "Small would

periodically talk [with Hewes] about a person she dated in high

school and went to prom with" and for whom she still had feelings.

That person was Pushard. Because Small believed that he was a

good person to discuss mental health with, she encouraged Hewes to

talk to him. This conduct does not shock the conscience.

"At the very worst, the complaint alleges facts that

might show that [Small] acted negligently . . . . But it is

well-settled that mere negligence is insufficient to maintain a

claim of substantive due process violation." Cohen ex rel. Cohen,

110 F.4th at 405 (citation modified). Instead, we must assess

whether Small "actually knew of a substantial risk" that Pushard

would sexually abuse Hewes but "disregarded that risk." Irish v.

Fowler, 979 F.3d at 75. The facts do not so indicate. The

complaint does not allege that Small either knew Pushard sexually

abused minors or had any suspicion of the potential for an abusive

relationship. To the contrary, the amended complaint states that

Small believed "Pushard was a really helpful and kind person and

could possibly help Libby [Hewes] with her mental health." Thus,

the district court did not err in dismissing Counts I and II

against Small at the pleading stage.

- 26 - 2. The Equal Protection Claim (Count III)

The Equal Protection Clause provides that "[n]o State

shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal

protection of the laws." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. As such,

it requires that "all persons similarly situated . . . be treated

alike." Rocket Learning, Inc. v. Rivera-Sánchez, 715 F.3d 1, 10

(1st Cir. 2013) (quoting City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr.,

473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985)). To bring a standard equal protection

claim such as this, a plaintiff must "establish that (1) the

person, compared with others similarly situated, was selectively

treated; and (2) that such selective treatment was based on

impermissible considerations." Wadsworth, 129 F.4th at 64

(citation modified). "It is well established that sex

discrimination violates the Equal Protection Clause." Id. at 54.

In evaluating Hewes's equal protection claim, the

district court noted the sole factual allegation was that

"Defendants knew that [Hewes] was a minor female student, and not

capable of making informed choices, and that she was being coerced

and/or threatened by Defendant B. Pushard, which a minor female

student, required protection therefrom." Hewes v. Pangburn, 2022

WL 823924, at *7. The district court then concluded that this

single allegation was not sufficient to state an equal protection

claim and dismissed it against all Defendants. On appeal, Hewes

takes aim at the district court's dismissal as to the Brewer School

- 27 - Department, Pangburn, and Small, claiming yet again that the Brewer

School Department failed to disseminate and implement its own

Affirmative Action Plan. This challenge fails for two reasons.

First, Hewes does not allege facts "that would permit a

court or jury to infer that [the Brewer School Department,

Pangburn, and Small] w[ere] motivated by an intent to discriminate

against [her] based on her sex or that [they] treated her any

differently than [they] would another student." Wadsworth, 129

F.4th at 64. The amended complaint does not include any

"allegations whatsoever relevant to [their] motivation[s] or to

[their] interactions with any other students." Id. Hewes merely

recites the elements of an equal protection claim, which is not

enough to survive a motion to dismiss. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678

(stating that a "formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause

of action" does not suffice to state a claim upon which relief can

be granted).

Second, as already explained, the amended complaint

failed to allege sufficient facts demonstrating that Hewes's

sexual abuse resulted from a policy or custom of failure to train

or supervise by the Brewer School Department. And a plaintiff who

asserts a claim "via § 1983 for violation of the Equal Protection

Clause by a school district or other municipal entity must show

that the harassment was the result of municipal custom, policy, or

practice." Fitzgerald v. Barnstable Sch. Comm., 555 U.S. 246,

- 28 - 257-58 (2009) (citing Monell, 436 U.S. at 694). Hence, we must

affirm the district court's dismissal of Hewes's equal protection

claim against the Brewer School Department, Pangburn, and Small.

B. The Title IX Claims

Title IX forbids any educational institution that

receives federal funding from discriminating against any person on

the basis of sex. 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). The Supreme Court has

recognized that Title IX confers "a private right of action under

which an aggrieved party may seek money damages against an

educational institution." M.L. ex rel. D.L. v. Concord Sch. Dist.,

86 F.4th 501, 510 (1st Cir. 2023). Sexual harassment or abuse of

a student by a teacher is sex discrimination. See Franklin v.

Gwinnett Cnty. Pub. Schs., 503 U.S. 60, 75 (1992) ("When a

supervisor sexually harasses a subordinate because of the

subordinate's sex, that supervisor 'discriminates' on the basis of

sex. We believe the same rule should apply when a teacher sexually

harasses and abuses a student." (citation modified)). For "[n]o

one questions that a student suffers extraordinary harm when

subjected to sexual harassment and abuse by a teacher." Gebser v.

Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 292 (1998).

Hewes appealed the district court's decisions on two

Title IX claims: (1) the intentional sex-based discrimination

claim, which the district court dismissed at the pleading stage;

and (2) the deliberate indifference claim, disposed of at the

- 29 - summary judgment stage. We begin with the deliberate indifference

claim.

1. The Deliberate Indifference Claim (Count VII)

"This court 'review[s] a district court's grant or

denial of summary judgment de novo, examining the record in the

light most favorable to the nonmovant and drawing all reasonable

inferences in that party's favor.'" Quintana-Dieppa v. Dep't of

the Army, 130 F.4th 1, 7 (1st Cir. 2025) (quoting Dusel v. Factory

Mut. Ins. Co., 52 F.4th 495, 502-03 (1st Cir. 2022)). The law

requires a party moving for summary judgment to demonstrate "that

there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that it is

entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Dusel, 52 F.4th at 503

(citation modified). Material facts are those facts that have the

"potential to affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable

law." Cherkaoui v. City of Quincy, 877 F.3d 14, 23 (1st Cir. 2017)

(citation omitted). Disputes, on the other hand, are "genuine

when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the

point in favor of the nonmoving party." Quintana-Dieppa, 130 F.4th

at 7 (citation modified).

To succeed on a Title IX claim under a deliberate

indifference theory, a plaintiff must establish five elements:

(1) he or she was subject to severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive sexual harassment; (2) the harassment caused the plaintiff to be deprived of educational opportunities or benefits; (3) the funding

- 30 - recipient was aware of such harassment; (4) the harassment occurred in the funding recipient’s programs or activities; and (5) the funding recipient’s response, or lack thereof, to the harassment was clearly unreasonable.

Doe v. Brown Univ., 896 F.3d 127, 130 (1st Cir. 2018) (citation

modified). In the landmark case of Gebser v. Lago Vista

Independent School District, the Supreme Court defined awareness

of sexual harassment as "actual knowledge." 524 U.S. at 290; see

also Santiago v. Puerto Rico, 655 F.3d 61, 73 (1st Cir. 2011)

(stating that awareness of sexual harassment "demands that a

funding recipient be shown to have had actual knowledge of the

harassment."). "This stringent requirement applies to Title IX

claims to eliminate any risk that the recipient would be liable in

damages not for its own official decision but instead for its

employees' independent actions." Santiago, 655 F.3d at 73

(citation modified). While "awareness" and "actual knowledge" of

a fact would seem to require more than a showing that the defendant

"ought to know," a panel of this court recently held that a school

has actual knowledge of harassment "if a reasonable jury could

conclude that a school 'ought to' know that harassment is

occurring -- if [the school] had information that conveyed a

substantial risk of ongoing harassment . . . ." Wadsworth, 129

F.4th at 70. Whether certain information or circumstance provide

- 31 - notice of substantial risk of ongoing harassment is based on "the

totality of circumstances." Id. at 71.

After discovery, the district court disposed of Hewes's

deliberate indifference claim at summary judgment, holding that no

facts in the record show "that Pangburn or any 'appropriate person'

had actual knowledge of the sexual assaults and harassment that

Hewes endured." Hewes v. Pangburn, 2024 WL 1996159, at *12. It

reasoned that "the summary judgment record reflects only that

Pangburn was aware of a rumor in April 2017 that Hewes was having

sexual contact with an adult man, which is not tantamount to actual

knowledge of the same[,]" and that "her lack of actual knowledge

is the death knell to Hewes's Title IX claim." Id.

Hewes challenges that decision, claiming there is a

genuine issue of material fact as to whether Pangburn had actual

knowledge of Hewes's sexual abuse. Hewes contends that Pangburn

was clearly "aware of information" that Hewes was being sexually

exploited by an adult because Hewes "report[ed] a rumor of her own

sexual victimization by an adult," which should have been

understood by Pangburn as a report of ongoing sexual abuse, thereby

constituting actual knowledge. She argues that labeling the

information as a "rumor" does not change the analytical calculus

because, as her expert testified, "abused children often disavow

their own abuse." Hewes also argues that the denial of the rumor

was not the only information school officials had about her abuse:

- 32 - she points to the time two softball coaches saw Pushard give her

a ride home and to the fact that rumors she had a

twenty-two-year-old boyfriend were prevalent amongst the student

body.

We are not persuaded that all of this -- the rumor,

Hewes's denial of it, and the ride home -- is enough to suggest

that Pangburn and the Brewer School Department "had information

that conveyed a substantial risk of ongoing harassment."

Wadsworth, 129 F.4th at 70. It is illuminating to compare this

case with the situation in Wadsworth.

In that case, the plaintiff alleged she suffered sexual

harassment by the school principal and brought, among other claims,

a Title IX deliberate indifference claim against the school

district. Id. at 48–49. The school's assistant principals:

. . . were aware of the [the principal's] habit of pulling [the plaintiff] out of class, that he referred to her as "cupcake," that she was working for him to pay off the car he gave her, that he wanted to invite her to live with him, and that they communicated by text message.

Id. at 71. They were also aware that "several teachers had

expressed concern with how often the [plaintiff and the school

principal] met as it caused [the plaintiff] to miss class." Id.

at 47. Considering these facts, this Court held that the school

administrators had actual knowledge of the sexual harassment

- 33 - because they had "information that conveyed a substantial risk of

ongoing harassment." Id. at 70.

Hewes contends that our holding in Wadsworth squarely

applies to her case. Not so. In Wadsworth, unlike here, school

administrators personally witnessed highly inappropriate conduct

such that sexual harassment was an obvious logical inference. See

id. at 71. The facts here tell a different story. In this case,

Pangburn only knew of a rumor: a rumor that she learned from Hewes

herself, and which Hewes denied because, she told Pangburn, she

liked one of her classmates and did not want him to hear it. As

to the ride home from softball practice and the rumors circulating

among students, Hewes does not allege that Pangburn was ever told

of the incident, or of the rumors (beyond Hewes's own report).

Unlike the school administrators in Wadsworth, Pangburn had not

directly observed any inappropriate conduct by Pushard. Nor was

the denied rumor reinforced by any other reports or indicia of

reliability. We cannot infer, without more, that Hewes asking

Pangburn to quash a denied rumor signaled, under the totality of

the circumstances, that there was a substantial risk of ongoing

harassment.12

12 To be sure, we recognize the traumatic events underlying this case. While a negligence or constructive knowledge standard could perhaps provide broader protection to minors, it is not the judiciary's role to expand the scope of Title IX. That is a legislative matter. See North Haven Bd. of Ed. v. Bell, 456 U.S. 512, 535 n.26 (1982) ("These policy considerations were for - 34 - We are aware that children who suffer sexual abuse often

deny it. Such denials, therefore, may not belie "suspicion" of

ongoing sexual abuse or harassment. But suspicion does not

constitute actual knowledge. See Suspicion, Merriam-Webster.com,

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspicion (defining

suspicion as "an instance of suspecting something wrong without

proof or on slight evidence") [https://perma.cc/BX6Y-YX2G]. As a

result, we decline to make the inferential leap that a single rumor

of sexual abuse which the minor flatly denies, without more,

conveys a substantial risk that the minor is experiencing sexual

abuse.

We thus affirm the district court's decision granting

the Brewer School Department's motion for summary judgment on

Hewes's deliberate indifference claim.

2. The Intentional Sex-Based Discrimination Claim (Count VIII)

In dismissing Hewes's intentional discrimination claim

at the pleading stage, the district court reasoned that the amended

complaint alleged "largely conclusory and, at times, contradictory

contentions . . . [that], absent factual support, [did] not

plausibly support a claim of intentional sex-based

discrimination." Hewes v. Pangburn, 2022 WL 823924, at *8. On

Congress to weigh, and we are not free to ignore the language and history of Title IX even were we to disagree with the legislative choice.").

- 35 - appeal, Hewes submits that the amended complaint "alleged

sufficient facts to support a claim that the [Brewer School

Department] engaged in intentional conduct that violated

Title IX." However, Hewes appears to merely parrot her Title IX

deliberate indifference claim, saying that it "has identical

elements to the [intentional sex-based discrimination] claim at

issue here" and that Pangburn and the Brewer School Department

"engaged in intentional conduct" because they had "actual

knowledge of the harassment and deliberate indifference in

response to that knowledge." We have already concluded that

Hewes's deliberate indifference claim was rightfully disposed of

at summary judgment, and it cannot survive here merely because she

has put a different label on it. As explained above, Pangburn had

no actual knowledge of Hewes's sexual abuse. Therefore, we also

affirm the district court's order dismissing Hewes's intentional

discrimination claim.

C. The Dismissal of Officer Doe as a Defendant

Hewes sued Officer Doe in his personal and professional

capacity based on the occurrence when he found Pushard with Hewes

after dark at the Conservation Club. On appeal, Hewes challenges

the district court's decisions regarding Officer Doe on three

fronts. First, she claims that the district court erred in

dismissing the complaint against Officer Doe for lack of personal

jurisdiction. Second, she argues that the district court

- 36 - erroneously failed to grant her motion to extend and enlarge the

amount of time to serve Officer Doe. Third, she contends that the

district court erred in denying her motion to amend the complaint

after she identified Officer Doe. We address each argument in

turn.

1. Dismissal for Insufficient Service of Process

We generally review de novo a district court's decision

when it "dismisses a case for lack of personal jurisdiction," Ward

v. AlphaCore Pharma, LLC, 89 F.4th 203, 209 (1st Cir. 2023)

(citation omitted), but we review "for abuse of discretion a

dismissal for insufficient service of process." Crossetti v.

Cargill, Inc., 924 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 2019) (citation omitted).

Hewes asserts that the district court erred in dismissing her

complaint against Officer Doe because she served Sergeant

Nickerson, "who is identified in the return of service as a person

designated by law to accept service of process on behalf of [the]

Brewer Police Department." She thus maintains that "service was

properly completed." We disagree.

A plaintiff suing an individual in an official capacity

must effectuate service of process according to "the rule

applicable to serving individuals." Caisse v. DuBois, 346 F.3d

213, 216 (1st Cir. 2003). Thus, Hewes could have served Officer

Doe by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint (1) to

Officer Doe personally; (2) at his usual place of abode with

- 37 - someone of suitable age and discretion who resides therein; or (3)

to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service

of process on behalf of Officer Doe, in accordance with Maine state

law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e); Me. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(1) (permitting

service on "an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive

service of process").

Hewes failed to properly serve Officer Doe with process.

She admitted that she served Sergeant Nickerson because she did

not know the identity of Officer Doe. Although Sergeant Nickerson

may have been the "person designated by law to accept service of

process on behalf of the Brewer Police Department," the Police

Department may not, in turn, accept service of process for an

individual officer who has not authorized it to do so. Fed. R.

Civ. P. 4(e); see also Perez Lopez v. Mangome, 117 F.R.D. 327, 328

(D.P.R. 1987) (holding that service of process was not proper

because the place of employment of the defendant police officers

did not qualify "as their dwelling house or usual place of abode").

Indeed, this Court has long held that a "defendant must

be served in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 in order for the

court to secure personal jurisdiction over him."

Echevarria-Gonzalez v. Gonzalez-Chapel, 849 F.2d 24, 28 (1st Cir.

1988); see also Caisse, 346 F.3d at 216 ("[T]o serve [defendants]

in either an individual or official capacity, [plaintiff] had to

comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e), providing for service of process

- 38 - on individuals."). Because no facts indicate that Officer Doe

authorized Sergeant Nickerson or the Brewer Police Department to

accept service on his behalf, service was invalid. The district

court properly dismissed the complaint against him for lack of

personal jurisdiction.

2. The Motion to Extend and Enlarge

We review a district court's refusal to give a plaintiff

more time to effectuate service of process for abuse of discretion.

See, e.g., Benjamin v. Grosnick, 999 F.2d 590, 591 (1st Cir. 1993).

"Abuse-of-discretion review is respectful but appellate deference

is not unbridled." Corp. Techs., Inc. v. Harnett, 731 F.3d 6, 10

(1st Cir. 2013).

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff

has 90 days after filing the complaint to serve a defendant. Fed.

R. Civ. P. 4(m). If the defendant is not served within that time

frame, the court "must dismiss the action without prejudice against

that defendant or order that service be made within a specified

time. But if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the

court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period."

Id. Refusal to grant an extension when the plaintiff shows good

cause for the failure to effect timely service constitutes error.

But not every error requires reversal. "Unless justice requires

otherwise, no error . . . by the court or a party -- is ground for

granting a new trial, for setting aside a verdict, or for vacating,

- 39 - modifying, or otherwise disturbing a judgment or order." Fed. R.

Civ. P. 61. Thus, we will disturb a district court's judgment

only when the error "affect[s] any party's substantial rights."

Id. Here, we first assess whether the district court erred in

failing to grant the motion to extend and enlarge, and then, if

so, whether the error affected Hewes's substantial rights.

Hewes stresses that even though she showed good cause

for failing to effectuate service of process in a timely manner,

the district court denied her motion to extend and enlarge the

time to serve Officer Doe. She argues the denial was an abuse of

discretion.

A "district court acts well within its discretion in

refusing to allow an extension." Perez-Cordero v. Wal-Mart P.R.,

440 F.3d 531, 534 (1st Cir. 2006). But a district court abuses

its discretion when it (1) commits a legal error, (2) "makes a

serious mistake in weighing relevant factors," (3) ignores a

"material factor deserving significant weight," or (4) relies on

"an improper factor." Alston v. Town of Brookline, 997 F.3d 23,

44 (1st Cir. 2021) (citation modified). Here, the district court

did not determine whether Hewes showed good cause for failing to

serve Officer Doe within 90 days after filing the complaint. See

Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). The relevant question is whether the

district court's failure to make a good cause finding constitutes

a legal error, and, if so, whether the error was prejudicial.

- 40 - The non-discretionary language of Rule 4(m) commands

district courts to inquire whether a plaintiff has good cause for

failing to serve a defendant. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) ("[I]f the

plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend

the time for service for an appropriate period." (emphasis added));

see also Espinoza v. United States, 52 F.3d 838, 841 (10th Cir.

1995) ("The preliminary inquiry to be made under Rule 4(m) is

whether the plaintiff has shown good cause for the failure to

timely effect service . . . . If good cause is shown, the plaintiff

is entitled to a mandatory extension of time."). Because the good

cause inquiry is mandatory, not discretionary, it was legal error

to rule without that inquiry.

Thus, we must decide whether the district court's error

was prejudicial or harmless. "An error affects substantial rights

if it was 'prejudicial,' meaning if the error 'affected the outcome

of the district court proceedings.'" Ramirez-Burgos v. United

States, 313 F.3d 23, 29 (1st Cir. 2002) (quoting United States v.

Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 734 (1993)). In challenging the district

court's ruling, Hewes contends that the district court's decision

to deny her motion to extend and enlarge was the reason she could

not add Officer Doe to the amended complaint when she discovered

his identity.

Hewes's argument finds no anchor in the record because

the district court issued a scheduling order which gave her over

- 41 - a year to amend the complaint.13 This time frame far exceeded the

additional time Hewes asked for in her motion to extend and

enlarge, as she only requested an additional 90 days. Hence, the

district court's denial of her motion to extend and enlarge neither

precluded her from finding the identity of Officer Doe, nor

prevented her from adding him as a defendant within the given

deadline. By giving Hewes more than a year to amend her complaint

and add Officer Doe as a defendant, the district court cured any

prejudice that would have resulted from denying her motion to

extend and enlarge. The district court's denial of Hewes's motion

to extend and enlarge thus amounts to nothing more than harmless

error.

3. Motion to Amend the Complaint

Like motions for extensions of time, "[w]e review a

district court's denial of a motion to amend for abuse of

discretion." Mulder v. Kohl's Dep't Stores, Inc., 865 F.3d 17, 20

(1st Cir. 2017). Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a

"party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course no later

than 21 days after serving it . . . ." Fed. R. Civ. P.

15(a)(1)(A). But if a party wants to amend the complaint after

that period, it must obtain "the opposing party's written consent

or the court's leave." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2).

13 Recall, Hewes had until October 5, 2022, to amend her complaint.

- 42 - Leave to amend should be freely given "when justice so

requires." Id. But "[a]s a case progresses, and the issues are

joined, the burden on a plaintiff seeking to amend a complaint

becomes more exacting." Steir v. Girl Scouts of the USA, 383 F.3d

7, 12 (1st Cir. 2004). "Once a scheduling order is in place, the

liberal default rule is replaced by the more demanding 'good cause'

standard of Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)." Id.; see also Miceli v.

JetBlue Airways Corp., 914 F.3d 73, 86 (1st Cir. 2019) ("In that

event, a motion to amend filed outside the parameters set by the

scheduling order will be granted only upon a showing of good

cause." (citation modified)). The good cause standard "makes

perfect sense: without it, scheduling orders would be little more

than aspirational statements, to be disregarded by the parties

whenever compliance proves inconvenient." Miceli, 914 F.3d at 86

(citation modified). "Properly deployed, the elevated good cause

standard puts teeth into Rule 16(b) scheduling orders and preserves

the integrity and effectiveness of [such] scheduling orders."

United States ex rel. D'Agostino v. EV3 Inc., 802 F.3d 188, 194

(1st Cir. 2015) (citation modified).

"The 'good cause' standard focuses on both the conduct

of the moving party and the prejudice, if any, to the nonmovant."

Miceli, 914 F.3d at 86. "The longer a plaintiff delays, the more

likely the motion to amend will be denied, as protracted delay,

with its attendant burdens on the opponent and the court, is itself

- 43 - a sufficient reason for the court to withhold permission to amend."

Id. (citation modified).

In April 2023 -- almost two years after filing

suit -- Hewes identified Officer Doe and filed the motion to amend

the complaint and to add him as a defendant. At that point, six

months had passed since the deadline to amend. The parties had

completed discovery, multiple parties had filed Notices of Intent

to File Summary Judgment Motions, and trial was scheduled for

September. Given the late stage of litigation, the district court

concluded that "even though there [was] no indication that Hewes

engaged in dilatory conduct, allowing [her] to amend her Complaint

at this juncture would unjustifiably delay this matter and unduly

prejudice the Defendants." Hewes v. Pangburn, 2023 WL 3550702, at

*3.

We have previously said that "we defer to the district

court's hands-on judgment so long as the record evinces an adequate

reason for the denial." Mulder, 865 F.3d at 20 (citation

modified). A district court "must often be firm in managing

crowded dockets and demanding adherence to announced deadlines."

Perez-Cordero, 440 F.3d at 533 (quoting Mendez v. Banco Popular de

P.R., 900 F.2d 4, 7 (1st Cir. 1990)). Allowing Hewes to amend her

complaint in April 2023 would have "delay[ed] the completion of

this case by requiring the reopening of discovery and, possibly,

permitting a round of preliminary motions . . . ." Hewes v.

- 44 - Pangburn, 2023 WL 3550702, at *3. The district court's rationale

in denying Hewes's motion fell squarely within its discretion to

deny leave to amend when the plaintiff's delay prejudices the

defendants. See Miceli, 914 F.3d at 86.

Of course, we do not take lightly Hewes's assertion that

the Brewer Police Department concealed the identity of Officer

Freeman. Such allegations, if substantiated, would be deeply

alarming. But, as the district court pointed out, Hewes could

have sued both Officer Freeman and the Brewer Police Department in

a separate lawsuit. Hewes, therefore, was not prejudiced at the

time the district court denied her motion to amend the complaint.

We discern no abuse of discretion.

III. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district

court's decision.

- 45 -