Chester Banks and Mary Banks, and v. Donald Alex Sheppard, And

Appellants appeal from an order dismissing their personal injury action against appellee following appellee’s successful motion to quash service of process for want of personal jurisdiction over him.

The action arises from an automobile accident in Nevada. Appellants were and are California residents. Appellee at all material times has been a resident of South Dakota. Appellants received an order for substituted service on appellee. Appellee appeared specially and moved to quash. The motion was properly granted because appellee had no contacts at all with California. California’s long-arm statute could not authorize constructive service upon the appellee. Therefore, Rule 4(d), Fed.R.Civ. Proc., granting to federal district courts the same long-arm powers enjoyed , by the courts of the states in which they sit, could not have authorized this substituted service.

Appellants argue that, even if service could not be effected under Rule 4(d), service was proper under Rule 4(e). In pertinent part, Rule 4(e) provides:

Appellants’ theory is that Rule 4(e) gives the district court discretionary power to order service of process anywhere in the nation and that the district court’s…