In The Struggle Productions LLC v. Collins
- Vargas
- 1:24-cv-02776
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In The Struggle Productions v. Collins, Judge Vargas granted amendment leave but denied email service for Collins and BSB Records, Inc.
The plaintiff, In The Struggle Productions, LLC, may file an amended complaint by January 23, 2025. Roland Collins and BSB Records, Inc. must respond within 14 days after service, but email service was denied; Collins may face a renewed email-service request supported by additional information.
What happened
In The Struggle Productions LLC v. Collins, the plaintiff asked to amend its complaint. Because the defendants did not oppose the request, the court granted it and ordered the amended complaint filed by January 23, 2025. The defendants must respond within 14 days after service.
The plaintiff also asked to serve Roland Collins and BSB Records, Inc. by email. The court noted that mail sent to Collins was returned and that the defendants did not attend a settlement conference or a later conference call. But the court found no filing showing Collins’s email address and no evidence that serving BSB Records through its authorized agent was impracticable.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas denied email service for Collins without prejudice to a later submission identifying the email address and explaining why it would likely reach him. The court also denied email service for BSB Records, Inc., and entered the order on January 16, 2025.
The detailed version
- In The Struggle Productions LLC v. Collins · No. 1:24-cv-02776
- Vargas
- Jan. 16, 2025
Background
The plaintiff filed a letter motion for leave to amend its complaint. The opinion states that the defendants did not oppose the motion. The plaintiff also requested permission to serve Roland Collins and BSB Records, Inc. by email.
The court noted that the Clerk had mailed a court filing to Collins, but the mail was later returned. The opinion also states that Collins and BSB Records did not appear at a November 21, 2024 settlement conference or a January 6, 2025 conference call.
Amendment of the Complaint
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), courts should freely allow amendments when justice requires. The court GRANTED the plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend without further notice. It ORDERED the plaintiff to file the amended complaint by January 23, 2025, and ORDERED the defendants to respond within 14 days after service.
Alternative Service by Email
New York law permits a court to direct an alternative method of service when traditional service is impracticable. The alternative method must be reasonably calculated to notify the defendant of the case and provide an opportunity to respond. The court explained that email service alone may satisfy due process when the plaintiff shows that the email is likely to reach the defendant.
For Collins, the court could not identify a filing listing an email address. It therefore DENIED the request to serve Collins by email, without prejudice to a later submission identifying the proposed email address and explaining why the address is likely to reach him. The court gave examples of supporting material, including a court filing listing the address or evidence of prior email communications.
For BSB Records, Inc., the court found no evidence that service through the authorized agent of the Secretary of State was impracticable. The court noted that the original complaint had successfully been served that way. Accordingly, the court DENIED the request to serve the defendants by email.
Disposition and Classification
The court granted leave to amend and denied the requested alternative email service. The denial as to Collins was without prejudice to a further submission; the opinion does not attach that qualification to the denial as to BSB Records, Inc. The order addressed amendment and service procedures, not the underlying claims, so this is a procedural order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.