Kimberly D. Collins v. Gwendolyn Thornton

Some five years ago, in Chen v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, Md., 135 S. Ct. 475 (2014) (mem.), this Court recognized at least a 7-1 circuit split -- with the Fourth Circuit standing as the lone outlying circuit -- and granted certiorari on the question of whether a district court has discretion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) to extend the time for service of process absent good cause. The Court was unable to resolve this split, however, because the selfrepresented petitioner missed a briefing deadline. Id. 135 S. Ct. 939 (2015). Since that time, the split (which is actually a 9-1 split) has not only remained in place, but the Fourth Circuit, despite its chances, has refused to remove its outlier status. The questions presented are thus:

1. Whether, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), a district court has discretion to extend the time for service of process absent a showing of good cause, as the Second, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits have held, or whether the district court lacks such discretion, as the Fourth Circuit has held.

2. Whether such discretion under Rule 4(m) is constrained where, as here, the statute of limitations will bar any re-filed claim, such that a district court may only dismiss a complaint for untimely service where there is a clear record of delay or contumacious conduct by the plaintiff.