Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01324/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01324-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Ryan Miller
Defendant
Nevada County Treasurer and Tax Collector
Defendant
Kent H. Smith
Plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

KENT H. SMITH, 

Plaintiff, 

v.

NEVADA COUNTY TREASURER AND 

TAX COLLECTOR, RYAN MILLER, and 

DOES 1-25, inclusive,

Defendants.

No. 2:14-cv-01324-KJM-KJN

ORDER 

I. INTRODUCTION

 The claims in this case arise out of plaintiff’s allegations that his real property was 

wrongfully sold at a tax sale. (See generally Compl., ECF 1.) Plaintiff filed his complaint on 

May 30, 2014. (Id.) On July 25, 2014, plaintiff applied for an order allowing service of the 

summons on one of the defendants, Ryan Miller, by publication. (ECF 5.) As explained below, 

the court GRANTS plaintiff’s application.

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II. ANALYSIS 

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e), an individual may be served by: 

(1) following state law for serving a summons . . . ; or

(2) doing any of the following: 

(A)delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to 

the individual personally; 

(B) leaving a copy of each at the individual’s dwelling or usual 

place of abode with someone of suitable age and discretion 

who resides there; or 

(C) delivering a copy of each to an agent authorized by 

appointment or by law to receive service of process.

In California, the final method of service permitted is by publication of summons 

in a newspaper of general circulation. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 415.50. Specifically, the California 

Code of Civil Procedure provides:

(a) A summons may be served by publication if upon affidavit it 

appears to the satisfaction of the court in which the action is 

pending that the party to be served cannot with reasonable 

diligence be served in another manner specified . . . and that . . . 

(1) A cause of action exists against the party upon whom 

service is to be made or he or she is a necessary or proper 

party to the action.

Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 425.50. 

However, service by publication should “be utilized only as a last resort,” Watts v. 

Crawford, 10 Cal. 4th 743, 749 n.5 (1995), because “notice by publication [is] not reasonably 

calculated to provide actual notice of the pending proceeding and [is] therefore inadequate to 

inform those who could be notified by more effective means such as personal service or mailed 

notice[,]” Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791, 795 (1983). Hence, “[b]efore 

allowing a plaintiff to resort to service by publication, the courts necessarily require [a plaintiff] 

to show exhaustive attempts to locate the defendant . . . .” Watts, 10 Cal. 4th at 749 n.5 (internal 

quotation marks omitted). A plaintiff has the burden to establish “reasonable diligence” in 

attempting service by other methods. Olvera v. Olvera, 232 Cal. App. 3d 32, 42 (1991).

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“Reasonable diligence” in attempting to serve by other methods connotes: 

[A] thorough, systematic investigation and inquiry conducted in 

good faith . . . . A number of honest attempts to learn defendant’s 

whereabouts or address by inquiry of relatives, friends, and 

acquaintances, or of an employer, and by investigation of 

appropriate city and telephone directories, the voters’ register, and 

the real and personal property index in the assessor’s office, near 

the defendant’s last known location, are generally sufficient. These 

are likely sources of information, and consequently must be 

searched before resorting to service by publication. However, the 

showing of diligence in a given case must rest on its own facts and 

no single formula nor mode of search can be said to constitute due 

diligence in every case. 

Kott v. Superior Court, 45 Cal. App. 4th 1126, 1137-38 (1996) (internal citations and quotations 

omitted). 

 Here, the court finds plaintiff has met his burden of establishing “reasonable 

diligence.” Plaintiff’s agent for service, Moe’s Process Serving, Inc., has provided information 

about three unsuccessful attempts to serve defendant Miller at his residential address in Nevada 

City. (See ECF 5-1, Ex. 1.) In addition, plaintiff has mailed a notice and acknowledgment of 

receipt of summons and complaint to the same address, but the mail was returned with a “no mail 

receptacle” stamp. (See ECF 5-1, Ex. 2.) Finally, plaintiff’s counsel declares defendant Miller 

“continues to evade personal service[] and cannot receive physical mail [at the address.]” (Arias 

Decl. ¶ 8, ECF 5-1.) Under these circumstances, plaintiff has satisfied the “reasonable diligence” 

requirement. See Bd. of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior Univ. v. Ham, 216 Cal. App. 4th 

330, 336 (stating that two or three attempts to serve at a proper place generally satisfied the 

reasonable diligence standard). Accordingly, the court GRANTS plaintiff’s application for an 

order for publication of summons.

 Plaintiff is directed to serve defendant Ryan Miller by publication in The Union,

serving Nevada County, California. Plaintiff is further directed to mail a copy of the summons, 

the complaint, and the order for publication to defendant Miller at all addresses available for him. 

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Finally, plaintiff shall comply with California Government Code section 6064, which provides 

that the publication in the newspaper must occur once a week for four successive weeks. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

DATED: August 19, 2014.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

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