MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS

RICHARD F. BOULWARE, II, District Judge.

Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), plaintiff Capital One, National Association ("Capital One") moves to extend the deadline to effect service of process in this case from December 26, 2017 to January 25, 2018.

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

Plaintiff Capital One filed this action against defendants KK Real Estate Investment Fund, LLC ("KKRE") and Turnberry Towers East Unit Owners Association ("Turnberry") on September 26, 2017. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) and 6(a)(1)(C), the current deadline for Capital One to effect service of process on KKRE and Turnberry is December 26, 2017. Good cause exists to extend this deadline by thirty days to January 25, 2017.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) generally requires a plaintiff to serve a defendant within 90 days after filing a complaint. However, "if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period." Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). Rule 4(m) "requires a district court to grant an extension of time if good cause is shown and permits the district court to grant such an extension even absent good cause." Mann v. Am. Airlines, 324 F.3d 1088, 1090 n.2 (9th Cir. 2003) (citing Henderson v. United States, 517 U.S. 654, 662 (1996)). When Rule 4(m) was amended in 2015 to shorten the presumptive time for service from 120 to 90 days, the advisory committee noted that "[s]hortening the presumptive time for service will increase the frequency of occasions to extend the time." Fed. R. Civ. P. 4, Notes of Advisory Committee on 2015 Amendment. "More time may be needed, for example, when a request to waive service fails, a defendant is difficult to serve, or a marshal is to make service in an in forma pauperis action." Id.

In this case, Capital One hired a process server to serve KKRE's registered agent, an individual named Cheung K Wok Chan. The process server attempted to serve the registered agent on December 22, 2017 at 11:33 a.m. at the registered agent's address on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. Ex. 1. The process server observed that the property appeared occupied, but the blinds were closed and no one answered the door. Id. The process server attempted to serve the registered agent again on December 26, 2017 at 11:57 a.m. A person in a neighboring suite confirmed that the property was occupied, but again, there was no one present at the property. Id.

Capital One also hired a process server to serve Turnberry's registered agent, Pinnacle Community Association Management. The process server attempted to serve the registered agent on December 22, 2017 at 11:31 a.m. at the registered agent's address on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. Ex. 2. The process server reported that the office was closed and there were no posted hours. Id. The process server attempted to serve the registered agent again on December 26, 2017 at 10:24 a.m. Id. The office was again closed, and a sign indicated the office would remain closed until December 27, 2017. Id.

To summarize, Capital One has diligently attempted to serve the registered agents for KKRE and Turnberry on two separate occasions. There is good cause for a 30-day extension based on Capital One's prior efforts to serve defendants and based on the likelihood that Capital One will be able to serve them in the near future. The office for Turnberry's registered agent will apparently reopen tomorrow, December 27. Further, while no one was present at the office of KKRE's registered agent on December 22 and 26, the office appears to be occupied. Because there is good cause to extend the service deadline, an extension is mandatory. In the alternative, the Court can and should exercise its discretion to grant the requested extension even in the absence of good cause.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2