Vazquez-Robles v. CommoLoco, Inc.

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Maribel Vazquez-Robles (Plaintiff) commenced a civil action in a federal district court against CommoLoCo, Inc. (Defendant), her former employer, alleging workplace discrimination claims. Plaintiff served the summons and complaint on Prentice-Hall Corporation System Puerto Rico, which she believed to be Defendant’s registered agent for service of process. When no answer was filed, Plaintiff obtained an entry of default, and a jury awarded Plaintiff nearly $1 million in damages. Plaintiff procured a writ of execution, and the full amount of the judgment was seized from Defendant’s bank account. Defendant immediately moved to vacate the judgment as void, arguing that Prentice was not its registered agent and that it had no prior knowledge of the action. The district court denied the motion. The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court, holding that, in this case, the district court never acquired jurisdiction over Defendant, as Prentice was not Defendant's registered agent at the time the service of process was attempted by Plaintiff. View "Vazquez-Robles v. CommoLoco, Inc." on Justia Law