Bank of America, N.A. v. Decatur Mountain Villas Homeowners Association, Inc. et al

Filing 17

ORDER Granting 16 Motion for Service by Publication. See Order for details/deadlines. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 4/27/17. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for order authorizing service of summons and

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complaint upon Defendant G.J.L., Incorporated, d/b/a Pro Forma Lien & Foreclosure Services, by

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publication and order enlarging time for service of process. Docket No. 16. The Court finds this

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motion properly resolved without a hearing. See Local Rule 78-1. For the reasons discussed below,

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Plaintiff’s motion, Docket No. 16, is hereby GRANTED.

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I.

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Plaintiff(s),

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vs.

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FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE
ASSOCIATION, et al.,

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Defendant(s).

Case No. 2:16-cv-02765-APG-NJK
ORDER
(Docket No. 16)

Motion to Extend Time for Service

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Where good cause is shown, the time for serving the complaint is extended for an appropriate

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period. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). The motion establishes sufficient cause to extend the time for

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effectuating service on Defendant until June 26, 2017.

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II.

Motion for Leave to Serve by Publication

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Plaintiff additionally seeks leave to serve Defendant by publication. Id. The Federal Rules

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of Civil Procedure provide for service pursuant to the law of the state in which the district court is

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located, or in which service is made. See, e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1). Pursuant to Rule 4 of the

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Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, parties are generally required to personally serve summons and

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the complaint upon defendants. Nevada law also permits a party to obtain leave for service by

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publication when the opposing party, inter alia “cannot, after due diligence be found within the state,

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or by concealment seeks to avoid the service of summons.” Nev. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1). There are

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several factors courts consider to evaluate a party’s due diligence, including the number of attempts

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made to serve the party at his residence and other methods of locating the party, such as consulting

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public directories and family members. See Abreu v. Gilmer, 985 P.2d 746, 747 (Nev. 1999);

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McNair v. Rivera, 874 P.2d 1240, 1241 (Nev. 1994); Price v. Dunn, 787 P.2d 785, 786-87 (Nev.

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1990).

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In this case, Plaintiff’s process servers have attempted unsuccessfully to serve Defendant

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once at the address listed for its registered agent, five times at the address of one of its officers listed

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by the Nevada Secretary of State, and three times at another address listed for it by the Nevada

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Secretary of State. See, e.g., Docket No. 16-1 at 2; Docket No. 16-2 at 2; Docket No. 16-3 at 2;

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Docket No. 16-4 at 2; Docket No. 16-5 at 3. Thus, the Court finds that Plaintiff has demonstrated

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sufficient diligence to warrant service by publication.

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III.

Conclusion

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For the reasons discussed above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion for order authorizing

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service of summons and complaint upon Defendant G.J.L., Incorporated, d/b/a Pro Forma Lien &

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Foreclosure Services by publication and order enlarging time for service of process. Docket No. 16.

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Plaintiff shall comply with the requirements of Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 4 and shall serve

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Defendant by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the State of Nevada on a weekly

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basis for a period of four weeks. After publication is complete, Plaintiff shall file an Affidavit of

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Publication from the Nevada newspaper. The deadline to serve Defendant G.J.L., Incorporated d/b/a

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Pro Forma Lien & Foreclosure Services is hereby EXTENDED to June 26, 2017.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: April 27, 2017.

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______________________________________
NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge

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