United States District Court, D. Arizona
ORDER
Dominic W. Lanza, United States District Judge
INTRODUCTION
Pending
before the Court is the motion for summary judgment filed by
Defendants Alvin Jerome Harris (“Harris”) and
Blue Earth Express, LLC (together, “Defendants”)
on the claims asserted by Plaintiff Rodney Ladell Quinn
(“Quinn”). (Doc. 28.)[1] Also pending is a motion to
strike Defendants' notice of non-party at fault. (Doc.
34.)
This
case arises from a May 2016 collision between vehicles driven
by Harris and Quinn. (Doc. 28.) Quinn and passenger Jesse
Morrison (“Morrison”) (together,
“Plaintiffs”) brought the present action against
Defendants in May 2018. (Doc. 1.) However, Defendants
previously sued Quinn (but not Morrison) in state court over
the same collision and secured a default judgment against
Quinn.
Defendants
now move for summary judgment under the theory that
Quinn's claims in this lawsuit are precluded by the
doctrine of res judicata and the Full Faith and Credit Act,
28 U.S.C. § 1738. (Doc. 28.) In response, Quinn argues
the default judgment was improperly entered against him in
the state-court action because he was never properly served
in that case. (Doc. 30.)
For the
following reasons, the Court will grant Defendants'
motion for summary judgment, with the proviso that Quinn may
seek reconsideration of this ruling if he prevails in his
ongoing effort to persuade the state-court judge to vacate
the default judgment. The Court also will deny
Plaintiffs' motion to strike.
BACKGROUND
On May
26, 2016, Quinn and Harris were involved in a collision on
I-40 in Coconino County, Arizona. (Doc. 28-3 at 2.)
Defendants sued Quinn (and others) in connection with that
collision in Coconino County Superior Court, filing their
amended complaint in June 2017. (Doc. 28-2.)
Defendants
twice attempted to serve Quinn with their state-court amended
complaint by sending a process server to the address in
Pasadena, California that Quinn provided at the time of the
collision. (Doc. 28-4 at 6.) During the second attempt, on
July 18, 2017, the process server spoke with Quinn's
mother, who stated that Quinn no longer lived at that address
and that she was willing to accept the documents but did not
know when she would see Quinn. (Id.) She refused to
provide Quinn's updated address. (Id.)
On
August 31, 2017, Defendants filed an “Affidavit of
Compliance of Service Through Non-Resident Motorist Act Upon
Defendants Rodney L. Quinn and Jane Doe Quinn” with the
Coconino County Superior Court. (Doc. 28-4.)
On May
25, 2018, Plaintiffs filed the present action in this Court.
(Doc. 1.) The action stems from the same May 2016 collision.
(Id. ¶ 1.)
On
September 4, 2018, Defendants filed their answer, in which
they “[a]ffirmatively assert the claim of Plaintiff
Quinn is barred by the principles of res judicata based on
Plaintiff Quinn's default in Coconino County Superior
Court No. CV2017-00032, Alvin J. Harris, Blue Earth
Express, LLC and Lancer Insurance Company v. Rodney L. Quinn,
et al., in which action Plaintiff Quinn could have
raised his compulsory counterclaim relating to his alleged
injuries which he asserts herein.” (Doc. 13 ¶ 15.)
On
October 31, 2018, the state court entered a default judgment
against Quinn, which became final on November 6, 2018. (Doc.
28-6.)
On
February 1, 2019, Defendants filed a notice of non-party at
fault pursuant to Rule 26(b)(5) of the Arizona Rules of Civil
Procedure. (Doc. 29.) This notice identifies two such
non-parties: (1) “the owner or owners of the animal or
animals that caused Plaintiff Quinn to stop or nearly stop on
an interstate highway in the presence of following
traffic” and (2) Quinn ...