Tennessee Valley Authority v. East Mississippi Electric Power Association

Filing 11

ORDER denying 3 Motion to Dismiss. The parties shall contact the magistrate judge assigned to this case within fourteen (14) days of the date of this Order to schedule a Case Management Conference. Signed by District Judge Sharion Aycock on 5/18/2016. (psk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
ABERDEEN DIVISION
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
V.

PLAINTIFF
CAUSE NO.: 1:15CV202-SA-DAS

EAST MISSISSIPPI ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION

DEFENDANT

ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS
Defendant East Mississippi Electric Power Association (EMEPA) seeks dismissal of the
claims against it on the grounds that Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) failed to properly
execute service. In particular, EMEPA insists that TVA served a copy of the Summons and
Complaint for this action on Patricia Stokes, an EMEPA employee at the Louisville branch of
EMEPA.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h), a corporation must be served
by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an officer, a
managing or general agent, or any other agent authorized by appointment or
by law to receive service of process and – if the agent is one authorized by
statute and the statute so requires – by also mailing a copy of each to the
defendant.
FED. R. CIV. P. 4(h)(1)(B).
EMEPA asserts that Patricia Stokes is not a managing or general agent.
In addition to responding to the Motion to Dismiss, TVA also had process served on
Randy Carroll and Wayne Henson, both Chief Operating Officers of EMEPA in Meridian. As
TVA has now sufficiently complied with Federal Rule 4(h), there is no ground to dismiss the
action. Accordingly, the Motion to Dismiss for Insufficiency of Process [3] is DENIED.
The parties are instructed to contact the magistrate judge’s chambers within fourteen (14)
days of the date of this Order to schedule a Case Management Conference.

SO ORDERED, this the 18th day of May, 2016.
/s/ Sharion Aycock_________
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE