Amazon.com Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, and RB Health (US) LLC v. Sehrish Gul, Muhammad Rehbar, Prasenjit Gope, Ikhtisham Ul Haq, Rida Arif, Zahid Ur Rehman, Zamrud Khan, Adnan Faraz, Onthego Gopech LLC, Khateen LLC, PR-Ecommerce LLC, RZGlobe LLC, A ShoppingEmbassy LLC, SkyTwilight LLC, and Does 1-10

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington denied without prejudice Plaintiffs’ motion for alternative service by email on individual defendants in an action alleging counterfeit sales of Neuriva-branded health supplements. The Court held that although email service was permissible under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f), Plaintiffs had not shown that the proposed email addresses were reasonably calculated to provide actual notice. Plaintiffs were ordered by April 6, 2026, to show proof of service, file a renewed motion, or show cause why the individual defendants should not be dismissed.

Holdings

1. Rule 4(f)(3) permits a court to order service by any means not prohibited by international agreement and consistent with due process. Because the proposed email service was not prohibited by an applicable international agreement on the facts presented, plaintiffs satisfied the Rule 4(f) component of the analysis.
2. Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that service at the proposed email addresses was reasonably calculated to provide the defendants with notice of the lawsuit; consequently, the court denied the motion for alternative service without prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether service by email was authorized under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(3).
2. Whether the proposed email service was reasonably calculated under constitutional due process to apprise the defendants of the action and provide an opportunity to respond.
3. Whether plaintiffs had shown sufficient grounds for the court to authorize alternative service by email.

Disposition

other