Xu v. Teneo
- Gregory Woods
- 1:25-cv-00109
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Xu v. Teneo, Judge Woods ordered corrected summonses and extended the service deadline after questioning whether Xu properly served defendants.
Junsai Xu and the defendants, including Teneo and Young. The order specifically affects how the defendants must be served and gives Xu additional time to complete service.
What happened
Junsai Xu brought this case against Teneo and others, and the case was transferred from the Eastern District of New York to the Southern District of New York. The order says Xu may have tried to serve defendants by certified mail.
The court explained that sending a summons and complaint by certified mail is not valid service under federal or New York law. It ordered the Clerk to issue amended summonses listing an address for Teneo and Young and directed Xu to properly serve the defendants under the federal service rule.
Judge Woods extended the service deadline to 90 days after the amended summonses are issued because Xu is representing themself without a lawyer. The order also directed the Clerk to mail Xu a copy of the order by certified mail.
The detailed version
- Xu v. Teneo · No. 1:25-cv-00109
- Gregory Woods
- Jan. 9, 2025
Background
Junsai Xu began this action on October 24, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case was later transferred to the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a statute allowing transfer when venue is improper or when transfer serves the interests of justice. The opinion states that Judge Chen issued the transfer order and that the case was assigned to Judge Gregory H. Woods.
Service issue
The court observed that Xu appeared to have amended the addresses for Teneo and Young on the summonses. The filing also appeared to suggest that Xu may have served the defendants by certified mail. The court directed Xu to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e), which lists the required methods for serving a summons and complaint on an individual. The court stated that mailing a summons and complaint by certified mail is not valid service under federal or New York law.
Order
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue amended summonses listing this address for Teneo and Young: 460 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, New York, 10460. The court also directed Xu, if proper service had not already occurred, to serve the defendants in a manner complying with Rule 4(e).
Rule 4(m) generally requires service within 90 days after the complaint is filed. Because Xu is representing themself without a lawyer, Judge Woods extended the service period until 90 days after the amended summonses issue. The Clerk was directed to mail Xu a copy of the order by certified mail. The order addressed service and scheduling; it did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.