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Ohio Court of Appeals· 9/29/2021

CUC Properties VI, L.L.C. v. Smartlink Ventures, Inc.

Citations

  • 178 N.E.3d 556
  • 2021 Ohio 3428

Syllabus

CERTIFIED MAIL – SIGNATURE – PANDEMIC – RETURN RECEIPT – CIV.R. 4.1 – SERVICE OF PROCESS - JURISDICTION: Service of process was not effective under Civ.R. 4.1(A)(1)(a) where the mail carrier signed the certified mail receipt on behalf of the recipient due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in contravention of United States Postal Service guidelines, and there was no order permitting the postal employee's signature to constitute proper service on the defendant in light of the pandemic. Therefore, the trial court never acquired personal jurisdiction over the defendant and lacked jurisdiction to enter a default judgment against it.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • “In this scenario, the return receipt lacked the requisite first initial and last name dictated by the USPS internal memorandum. As a result, that guidance has no bearing on our analysis.”
  • “The entire purpose of certified mail service . . . is to ensure that proof exists that someone actually received the service, which explains why both subsection (1)(a) and (1)(b) emphasize the signature requirement.”
  • “When the carriers in this case marked “Covid 19” or “C19” on the return receipt, they assumed the role of both the deliverer and the recipient . . . [W]e cannot see how ‘Covid-19’ or ‘C19’ constitutes a ‘signature’ or a receipt ‘signed’ by a person.”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Bergeron

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

15 cases in this archive cite this case.

Cites

16 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.