United States District Court, D. Arizona
ORDER
JAMES
A. TEILBORG SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On
February 4, 2019, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint (Doc.
46) against the following Defendants:
1. Arizona Movers and Storage, Inc.,
2. Elite Movers USA, LLC,
3. Class Movers & Storage, Inc.
4. Hashem Abouzeid,
5. Hossam Hassan, and 6. Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan.
In this
Order, the Court will attempt to determine the status of this
case as to each Defendant.
Service
1.
Arizona Movers and Storage, Inc.
The
amended complaint was purportedly served on Arizona Movers
and Storage, Inc. (Doc. 60). Thereafter Plaintiff sought
entry default against this Defendant. (Doc. 62). The
purported service “served” this Defendant by
serving the corporation commission. (Doc. 60). Arizona Rule
of Civil Procedure 4.1(j) (which may be used under the
Federal Rules as stated in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
4(e)(1)), permits this type of service if no officer or agent
of a domestic corporation is found in Arizona. Ariz. R. Civ.
Pro. 4.1(j)(1). On this record, there is no evidence that no
officer or agent of Arizona Movers and Storage, Inc. is in
Arizona. Further, Plaintiff has not submitted the prima facie
evidence permitting this type of service. Ariz. R. Civ. Pro.
4.1(j)(2). Finally, the proof of service does not indicate
two copies were served, as is required by the Rule.
Therefore, on this record, service is not complete and
default will not be entered.
2.
Elite Movers USA, LLC
The
amended complaint was purportedly service on Elite Movers
USA, LLC. (Doc. 58) at 4822 S. 40th Street, Phoenix, Arizona.
The note on the proof of service states, “This was a
drop service. He said he is not Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, and
refused to accept the documents. He threw them into my car as
I was leaving, so I dropped them on the ground and told him
again that I believed him to be Mohamed and that he was
served.” (Id. at 2).
Notwithstanding
this irregularity with purported service, Elite Movers USA,
LLC purported to answer. (Doc. 61). However, a limited
liability company, like a corporation, can only appear in
federal court through licensed counsel. D-Beam Ltd.
P'ship v. Roller Derby Skates, Inc.,366 F.3d 972,
973-74 (9th Cir. 2004). No. one, lawyer or ...