Shelley Jane Mills v. Anoka County Jail, Sheila Larson, and Brad Wise

• Court: District Court, D. Minnesota
• Decided: October 28, 2025
• Docket: 0:25-cv-02347
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

Shelley Jane Mills, Case No. 25-cv-02347 (ECT/ECW) Plaintiff,

v. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Anoka County Jail, Sheila Larson, and Brad Wise,

Defendants.

This case is before the Court regarding the Order issued on September 29, 2025 by the undersigned magistrate judge (Dkt. 3) ordering that Plaintiff do one of the following or the Court would recommend dismissal for failure to prosecute within 20 days of the date of the Order: 1. File proof of service of the summons and complaint or a waiver of service on CM/ECF; 2. Immediately notify counsel for Defendants that he/she is required to make an appearance or move for an extension of time to do so; 3. File an application for entry of default unless the required pleading or request for extension is filed within 10 days of the date of this Order; or 4. Advise the Court in writing of any good cause to the contrary. (Dkt. 3 at 1-2.) Plaintiff filed this action on June 5, 2025. (Dkt. 1.) Pursuant to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[i]f a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff—must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). As of the date of this Order, Plaintiff has done none of the items listed above in the

Court’s previous September 29, 2025 Order, including providing proof of service. The Eighth Circuit has approved of sua sponte dismissal for failure to serve a defendant, so long as the dismissal is without prejudice. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); see also Hoffmann v. United States, 21 F. App’x 528, 529 (8th Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (holding that plaintiff’s failure to serve the defendant for over 120 days since filing the complaint warranted a sua sponte dismissal without prejudice under Rule 4(m)); Sterling

v. United States, 985 F.2d 411, 412 (8th Cir. 1993) (“District courts have inherent power to dismiss sua sponte a case for failure to prosecute, and we review the exercise of this power for abuse of discretion.”). Accordingly, the Court recommends dismissal of this case due to Plaintiff’s failure to prosecute her claims. RECOMMENDATION

Based on the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT: Plaintiff’s Complaint (Dkt. 1) be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for failure to prosecute. DATED: October 28, 2025 s/Elizabeth Cowan Wright ELIZABETH COWAN WRIGHT United States Magistrate Judge NOTICE This Report and Recommendation is not an order or judgment of the District Court and is therefore not appealable directly to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Under District of Minnesota Local Rule 72.2(b)(1), “a party may file and serve specific written objections to a magistrate judge's proposed finding and recommendations within 14 days after being served a copy” of the Report and Recommendation. A party may respond to those objections within 14 days after being served a copy of the objections. D. Minn. LR 72.2(b)(2). All objections and responses must comply with the word or line limits set for in D. Minn. LR 72.2(c).