Cox v. Quigley

141 F.R.D. 222 (D. Me 1992)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D lived with his family on Cayuga Heights Road in Ithaca. D attended Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine and graduated in the spring of 1987. His parents moved to a new house in Ithaca where there was no bedroom for him. When he returned to Ithaca after graduation and took a summer job and slept on a cot in the basement. In the fall of 1987, he obtained a position with the Military Sealift Command and went to sea. In May 1988, he notified his employer that he was changing his address to Florida; his grandparents' address. At the same time, he registered to vote in Florida and proceeded to cast a Florida absentee ballot. He has only voted once. He also filed his federal income tax return listing a Florida address in May 1988. All of these events occurred before the relevant developments in this lawsuit. In June 1988, P's lawyer attempted to serve process on D. A sheriff delivered the process to D's parents' home. D's father declined to accept the process after determining that the lawsuit did not involve him, and he told the deputy sheriff that D was at sea for several months. P next wrote the deputy sheriff to determine if D's parents' home was his usual place of abode and if so, to leave the process there. Process with left with D's father and a copy was sent by mail (Rule 4(e)(2)). The father's lawyer returned the process by mail to P's lawyer informing him that D did not reside with his father and that his father did not accept service on his behalf. D did not appear, and a default was entered. D eventually moved to have the default vacated for lack of personal jurisdiction in that process of service was never affected. Evidence showed that D continued to hold his New York driver's license until it was stolen from him in Greece in the summer of 1988. On October 14, 1988, D obtained a replacement Virginia license while his ship was in port in Norfolk, Virginia. The Virginia license listed New York as D's residence. D also conducted business using the New York address and had his mother manage his affairs from that address. D spent time at the New York address and also at the Florida address of his grandparents.