Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-01428/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-01428-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Dorothy Miller
Plaintiff
Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
Defendant

Document Text:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

WO

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Dorothy Miller, 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Public Safety Personnel Retirement

System, 

Defendant. 

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

No. CV-10-1428-PHX-GMS

ORDER

Plaintiff initiated this action on July 7, 2010 and has filed her Proof of Service (Doc.

8). For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that Plaintiff has not established proper

service of the summons and complaint.

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Federal Rules”), “service upon an

individual may be made by ‘delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the

individual personally; . . . 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] delivering

a copy of each to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of

process.’” Haskins v. Moynihan, 2010 WL 2691562, at *3 (D. Ariz. July 6, 2010) (citing Fed.

R. Civ. P. 4(e)(2)). Service may be performed by “any person who is at least 18 years old

and not a party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(2). Under the Federal Rules, a Plaintiff also has the

option of serving an individual by “following state law for serving a summons in an action

Case 2:10-cv-01428-GMS Document 9 Filed 08/04/10 Page 1 of 2
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

- 2 -

brought in courts of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located or

where service is made.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1). The Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure

(“Arizona Rules”) mirror the requirements of the Federal Rules for service of an individual.

See Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4.1(d). Additionally, under the Arizona Rules, “service of process shall

be made by a sheriff, a sheriff’s deputy a private process server . . . or any other person

specially appointed by the court.” Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4(d). 

 In addition to the general requirements for process set forth above, the Federal Rules

mandate that a state, a municipal corporation, or any other state-created governmental

organization that is subject to suit must be served by “delivering a copy of the summons and

of the complaint to its chief executive officer or serving a copy of each in the manner

prescribed by that state’s law for serving a summons or like process on such a defendant.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(j)(2). The Arizona Rules state, “Service upon a county or municipal

corporation or other governmental subdivision of the state subject to suit . . . shall be effected

by delivering a copy of the summons and of the pleading to the chief executive officer, the

secretary, clerk, or recording officer thereof.” Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4.1(i).

The evidence indicates that Plaintiff has not sufficiently served Defendant as a

governmental entity. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that she has effected service upon the

CEO, the secretary, clerk, or recording officer of Defendant as required by the Federal and

Arizona Rules. Furthermore, as discussed above, Plaintiff’s attempted service of process

fails because (1) she attempted to do it herself in violation of Federal Rule 4(c)(2) and

Arizona Rule 4(d), and (2) because she attempted to do so by mail in violation of Federal

Rule 4(e) and Arizona Rule 4(d). Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to properly effect service

upon Defendant. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff properly serve Defendant within the time

required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m).

DATED this 4th day of August, 2010.

Case 2:10-cv-01428-GMS Document 9 Filed 08/04/10 Page 2 of 2