Cite as: 517 U. S. 654 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
p. 654.10 And tellingly, the text of Rule 4 sets out, as "[a] specific instance of good cause," ibid., allowance of "a reasonable time" to "cur[e] the failure to serve multiple officers . . . of the United States if the plaintiff has effected service on either the United States attorney or the Attorney General" within the prescribed 120 days. Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 4(i)(3).
The Federal Rules thus convey a clear message: Complaints are not to be dismissed if served within 120 days, or within such additional time as the court may allow. Furthermore, the United States acknowledges that, § 2 of the Suits in Admiralty Act aside, Rule 4's extendable 120-day time prescription applies to the full range of civil litigation, including cases brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U. S. C. § 2675, and the Tucker Act, ch. 359, 24 Stat. 505 (1887) (current version 28 U. S. C. §§ 1346, 1491 and other scattered sections of 28 U. S. C.). See Tr. of Oral Arg. 33. We are therefore satisfied that Rule 4's regime conflicts irreconcilably with Suits in Admiralty Act § 2's service "forthwith" instruction, and we turn to the dispositive question: Does the Rule supersede the inconsistent statutory direction?
III
The Rules Enabling Act, 28 U. S. C. § 2071 et seq., authorizes the Supreme Court "to prescribe general rules of practice and procedure . . . for cases in the United States district courts . . . and courts of appeals," § 2072(a), and directs:
10 Rule 4(m), captioned "Time Limit for Service," currently provides: "If service of the summons and complaint is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after the filing of the complaint, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative after notice to the plaintiff, shall dismiss the action without prejudice as to that defendant or direct that service be effected within a specified time; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. . . ." (Emphasis added.)
663
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