Firsov v. Airlines
- Beth Freeman
- 5:25-cv-03784
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Sergey Firsov v. United Airlines, Judge Freeman denied Firsov’s motion for service-of-process fees because he did not show a proper waiver request.
The ruling affects Sergey Firsov’s request to recover service-of-process costs from United Airlines, Inc. and the other defendants.
What happened
In Sergey Firsov v. United Airlines, Inc, et al., Sergey Firsov asked the court to recover service costs under a federal rule governing requests to waive formal service. He claimed the defendants refused to return the waiver and sought $150 from each defendant.
The defendants opposed the motion, arguing that Firsov had delivered the summons only to a manager or ticket agents at San Francisco International Airport, rather than to an authorized agent. A United operations manager also stated that the documents were left on a counter after the person attempting delivery was told to contact United’s corporate office.
The court denied the motion because Firsov did not show that he made a proper request for waiver of service to an authorized recipient. Judge Beth Labson Freeman issued the order on October 14, 2025.
The detailed version
- Firsov v. Airlines · No. 5:25-cv-03784
- Beth Freeman
- Oct. 14, 2025
Background
Sergey Firsov moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d)(2) to recover costs for serving the defendants. He alleged that the defendants refused to cooperate and return a waiver of service and stated that he incurred $150 in service costs for each defendant. The defendants opposed the motion.
Legal standard
Rule 4(d)(1) requires a corporation subject to service under the applicable service rules to avoid unnecessary expenses of serving a summons. A request for waiver must be directed to an officer, managing or general agent, or another agent authorized by appointment or law to receive service. Under Rule 4(d)(2), if a defendant fails to waive service without good cause after receiving a valid request, the court must impose the expenses later incurred in making service.
Court’s analysis
The court concluded that Firsov’s moving papers showed, at most, an attempt to serve a branch or station manager who did not qualify as an officer, general manager, or authorized agent for service. Firsov provided no evidence showing otherwise. The court therefore found that he had not demonstrated that he made a proper request for waiver of service, which was required for recovering costs and fees under Rule 4(d)(2).
The opinion also discussed a declaration from Donald Walker, an operations manager employed by United Airlines. Walker stated that an unidentified individual attempted to hand legal documents to ticket agents, was told that the documents could not be accepted and to contact United’s corporate office, and then left the documents on the counter and walked away.
Disposition
The court denied Firsov’s motion for service-of-process fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.