California Appellate Tracker

Calvert v. Al Binali

January 23, 2019

Plaintiff obtained a court order permitting service of process by publication and specifying that the complaint and summons be published in the Orange County Register, but instead of complying, plaintiff published them in a smaller newspaper of general circulation owned by one of the OCR’s subsidiaries, which resulted in ineffective service.

Calvert, a plastic surgeon, sued Al Binali, a former patient, claiming she defamed him in a posting on www.ripoffreport.com. Unable to find Al Binali’s address, Calvert obtained an order allowing service of the complaint by publication. The order specified that the complaint and summons be published in the Orange County Register. Instead, the owner of the Register published it in a smaller newspaper of general circulation owned by one of its subsidiaries. Held, the judgment is void. A review of the judgment roll, which includes the order approving service and the affidavit of service shows that the publication was not in the newspaper specified in the order. Hence, service was ineffective. Strict compliance with the statutory requirement for service by publication is required, including publication in the newspaper specified in the order. Since the publication did not comply with the order, there was no effective service and the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction.

California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 8 (Rubin, Acting P.J.); December 4, 2018; 29 Cal. App. 5th 954

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Calvert v. Al Binali

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