U.S.D.C. Defendants

U.S.D.C. SERVICE OF PROCESS - SERVICE OF A SUMMONS.

U.S.D.C. Service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body, or other tribunal.

When we personally serve a defendant with your U.S.D.C. Summons, this officially gives notice of court documents (called "process") to the person to be served.

Each Federal jurisdiction has similar rules regarding the appropriate service of process. However, many laws revert back to the state law where service is to be made. We generally take direction from the Attorney who issued the summons as to what rule of law we should follow to serve the defendant. Typically, a summons and other related documents must be served upon the defendant personally, or in some cases upon another person of suitable age and discretion at the person's residence or place of business or employment. When a defendant cannot be located in a particular jurisdiction we will investigate the defendant’s whereabouts and work closely with you to assure we are ahead of the 90-day deadline to serve the defendant with your USDC Summons.

Proper U.S.D.C. service of process initially establishes personal jurisdiction of the Federal court over the person served.

Service of process in cases filed in the United States district courts are governed by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

FEDERAL (U.S.D.C.) RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

U.S.D.C. civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process (if any) is required, the types of pleadings or statements of case, motions or applications, and orders allowed in civil cases, the timing and manner of depositions and discovery or disclosure, the conduct of trials, the process for judgment, various available remedies, and how the courts and clerks must function.

U.S.D.C. FEDERAL COURT JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak") is the practical authority granted to a legal body to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility.

Colloquially it is used to refer to the geographical area to which such authority applies. The legal term refers only to the granted authority, not to a geographical area. Jurisdiction draws its substance from public international law, conflict of laws, constitutional law, and the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government to allocate resources to best serve the needs of its native society.

LONG ARM JURISDICTION

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 4(k) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for where service of a summons outside the district will provide personal jurisdiction over a party.

(k) Territorial Limits of Effective Service.

(1) In General. Serving a summons or filing a waiver of service establishes personal jurisdiction over a defendant:

(A) who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located;

(B) who is a party joined under Rule 14 or 19 and is served within a judicial district of the United States and not more than 100 miles from where the summons was issued; or

(C) when authorized by a federal statute.

(2) Federal Claim Outside State-Court Jurisdiction. For a claim that arises under federal law, serving a summons or filing a waiver of service establishes personal jurisdiction over a defendant if:

(A) the defendant is not subject to jurisdiction in any state's courts of general jurisdiction; and

(B) exercising jurisdiction is consistent with the United States Constitution and laws

U.S.D.C. Federal Court Service of Process of a Summons
Methods of U.S.D.C. Service of Process on Individuals and Entities by State: