Hossner v. USCIS Omaha Field Office, 8:22-cv-00336-BCB-MDN

Plaintiff Tabbitha Lynn Hossner sued the USCIS Omaha Field Office and filed a complaint in the District of Nebraska.
The magistrate judge (Michael D. Nelson) issued a Findings and Recommendation (F&R) recommending dismissal without prejudice under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) for failure to effect timely service.
The magistrate found Hossner did not respond to an order to show cause, did not file a return or waiver of service, and did not request an extension of the service deadline.
No party filed objections to the magistrate judge’s F&R.
The district court reviewed the F&R for clear error, found none, accepted the F&R, and dismissed the complaint without prejudice on January 26, 2023.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether dismissal under Rule 4(m) is appropriate for failure to serve	No effective response; did not show cause or seek extension	Case should be dismissed for failure to effect timely service	Dismissed without prejudice under Rule 4(m)
Standard of review for magistrate F&R when no objections are filed	No objection filed	District court may review for clear error rather than de novo	Court reviewed for clear error, found none, and accepted F&R

Gonzales-Perez v. Harper, 241 F.3d 633 (8th Cir. 2001) (district court must conduct de novo review of parts of a magistrate report to which timely objections are made)
Jones v. Pillow, 47 F.3d 251 (8th Cir. 1995) (same principle on de novo review requirement)
Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (U.S. 1985) (no statutory requirement to perform de novo review when no objections are filed)
Grinder v. Gammon, 73 F.3d 793 (8th Cir. 1996) (when no objections are filed, district court need only review magistrate findings for clear error)