Opinion ID: 3047727
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Default Against Tift and Johnson

Text: In their challenge to the default judgment Tift and Johnson also rely primarily on alleged deficiencies of service. The 3268 EMPLOYEE PAINTERS’ TRUST v. ETHAN ENTERPRISES record is clear, however, that service of the amended complaint was effective. [3] Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs the commencement of an action and the service of process. It provides that “[a] summons shall be served together with a copy of the complaint,” FED. R. CIV. P. 4(c)(1), and that service . . . may be effected in any judicial district of the United States: (1) pursuant to the law of the state in which the district court is located, or in which service is effected, . . . ; or (2) by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the individual personally . . . . FED. R. CIV. P. 4(e). Rule 5, in turn, governs service of “every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants.” FED. R. CIV. P. 5(a). It provides that such pleadings can be served by various means, including by “[d]elivering a copy to the person served[, m]ailing a copy to the last known address of the person served[, and i]f the person served has no known address, leaving a copy with the clerk of the court.” FED. R. CIV. P. 5(b). [4] Although the parties and the district court assumed — for reasons not explained — that Rule 4 governed service of the amended complaint, that is not so. Instead, it is Rule 5 that was applicable. Here is why: The amended complaint in this case qualifies as a “pleading subsequent to the original complaint,”6 thus allowing it to be served in any manner prescribed in Rule 5(b). Plaintiffs served the amended complaint via mail, which is permitted by Rule 5(b)(2)(B). Thus, to the extent that appellants’ arguments rely on claims of ineffective service, their appeal fails. 6 An amended complaint clearly is “subsequent to the original complaint” and thus falls squarely within the provisions of Rule 5. EMPLOYEE PAINTERS’ TRUST v. ETHAN ENTERPRISES 3269 [5] True, there are circumstances in which amended complaints must be served pursuant to Rule 4. But this is not one of them. An amended complaint need only be served in the manner provided by Rule 4 when (1) a party is “in default for failure to appear” and (2) the “pleadings assert[ ] new or additional claims for relief.” FED. R. CIV. P. 5(a). [6] Here, the individual defendants were not in default for failure to appear; the court had already exercised personal jurisdiction over them. By the time the amended complaint was filed, appellants had participated actively in the litigation, filing an answer to the original complaint and contesting a disputed counterclaim. It is therefore immaterial whether or not the amended complaint asserted “new or additional claims.” See 4B Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1144 (3d ed. 2002) (noting that, “by appearing in the action the party . . . may become vulnerable to service of claims for new or additional relief under the relatively informal methods set out in Rule 5(b)”).7 [7] Because Rule 5 and not Rule 4 applies, service of the amended complaint was complete when plaintiffs sent it via first class mail. See FED. R. CIV. P. 5(b)(2)(B) (permitting service by “[m]ailing a copy to the last known address of the person served”) (emphasis added). Proof of such service is clear from the record, as the trusts’ attorney “deposited copies 7 We do not suggest that a court could not order that a formal manner of personal service was necessary for amended complaints filed after the period for filing such complaints as of right has expired. See FED. R. CIV. P. 15(a). Nothing in the record, however, indicates that the district court took this step. In its order allowing the amended complaint, the district court stated that “service of an Amended Complaint upon [defendants] shall be allowed.” This statement comports with the “leave of court” required by Rule 15 for amendments to pleadings out of time; it does not suggest that the court found Rule 5 service inadequate. This is unsurprising. Once a party appears in a civil action it is responsible for the diligent presentation of its case, which includes, inter alia, keeping apprised of recent filings and providing the court with a correct mailing address. 3270 EMPLOYEE PAINTERS’ TRUST v. ETHAN ENTERPRISES of the [Amended Complaint] with the United States Post Office, directed to said Defendants at the last known address.” As a result, appellants’ argument that the default judgment was void for lack of service fails.