Cody Barnes v. Selena Scola

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California grants Cody Barnes’s ex parte motion for alternative service on Selena Scola. The court permits service of the summons, complaint, and required documents by email and USPS Certified Mail after finding reasonable diligence, likely awareness of the lawsuit, and that the proposed methods were reasonably calculated to provide actual notice.

Holdings

1. Plaintiff demonstrated the reasonable diligence required for alternative service because the process server made six attempts at Defendant's known residential address, access was denied, and additional searches failed to locate an updated address.
2. Plaintiff may serve Defendant by email at [email protected] and [email protected] and by USPS Certified Mail at Defendant's San Francisco residential address.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff exercised reasonable diligence in attempting to serve Defendant through ordinarily authorized methods.
2. Whether service by email and USPS Certified Mail was reasonably calculated to give Defendant actual notice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e)(1) and California Code of Civil Procedure section 413.30.

Disposition

other