Hewitt v. Walmart Inc.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI NORTHERN DIVISION DEMETRIA HEWITT PLAINTIFF v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:25-cv-371-KHJ-MTP WALMART, INC. DEFENDANT ORDER THIS MATTER is before the Court sua sponte for case management purposes. Plaintiff filed this action on May 21, 2025, and submitted the filing fee on July 2, 2025, after her Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis was denied. Plaintiff is responsible for service of process pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4.1 Rule 4(m) states that “[i]f a defendant is not served within 90 days after the compliant is filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff—must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made within a specified time.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). Weighing all doubts in Plaintiff’s favor, this 90-day deadline began to run on July 2, 2025, the date Plaintiff paid the filing fee.2 Thus, the deadline to serve Defendant runs on September 30, 2025. To date, Plaintiff has not filed a proof of service or had a summons issued, and during a telephonic conference held this date, Plaintiff confirmed that she has taken no action to serve 1 As Plaintiff is not proceeding in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1915 , the Court and the United States Marshals Service have no obligation to serve process on Plaintiff’s behalf. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c). 2 See Shabazz v. Franklin, 380 F. Supp. 2d 793, 799 (N.D. Tex. 2005); Ellis v. Principi, 223 F.R.D. 446, 447-48 (S.D. Miss. 2004). Defendant. Given the imminent deadline, the Court will provide Plaintiff another opportunity to serve Defendant and extend the deadline to do so. IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that Plaintiff shall serve Defendant and file proof of service pursuant to Rule 4(l) on or before October 31, 2025. Failure to properly serve Defendant with process and file the proof of service of record by October 31, 2025, may result in the dismissal of this action without prejudice and without further notice. SO ORDERED this the 25th day of September, 2025. s/Michael T. Parker UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE