MCBEE v. FRAIRE, 2022 OK 22

Plaintiff Vickie McBee sued Efren Fraire, Augustine Fraire, Fraire Bricklayers, Inc., and unnamed John Does; defendants moved to dismiss for untimely service of process.
The trial court sustained the defendants' motion and dismissed the action for failure to effect service within 180 days.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court may summarily decide appeals when a prior controlling appellate decision is dispositive (Okla. Sup. Ct. Rule 1.201).
The Court found that its earlier decision in McBee v. Shanahan Home Design, 2021 OK 60, 499 P.3d 1, presented the same primary legal question as this appeal.
The dispositive legal question was whether the Court's joint COVID‑19 emergency orders (SCAD Orders 2020‑24, 2020‑29, 2020‑36) suspended the 180‑day service‑of‑process deadline in 12 O.S. 2004(I).
Holding: the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s dismissal and remanded for further proceedings (order issued March 7, 2022); one justice did not participate.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Court's COVID‑19 emergency orders suspended the 180‑day deadline to effect service of process	McBee: the joint emergency orders paused the 180‑day service deadline, making service timely	Fraire: the statutory 180‑day deadline was not suspended; service was untimely and dismissal proper	The Court summarily reversed the dismissal, holding Shanahan controls and disposing the appeal in favor of plaintiff; remanded for further proceedings

McBee v. Shanahan Home Design, et al., 499 P.3d 1 (Okla. 2021) (held that the Court's joint COVID‑19 emergency orders affected suspension of the 180‑day service‑of‑process deadline)