American First Finance LLC v. Mendoza Garcia

I. INTRODUCTION

18 In this civil action filed on January 26, 2023, Plaintiff American First Finance, LLC, 19 alleges that Defendant Fernando Mendoza Garcia committed fraud, breached a contract, and 20 engaged in unfair business practices related to an agreement between the parties for Defendant to 21 sell products to customers on credit and thereafter assign the credit sales to Plaintiff. (ECF No. 1, 22 p. 3). Asserting that it cannot serve Defendant by conventional means, Defendant has filed an ex parte application for an order permitting service by publication. (ECF No. 9). Upon review of the application, the Court will (1) vacate the hearing set for May 26, 2023, and (2) permit Plaintiff to file a supplement in support of the application. II. LEGAL STANDARDS Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e)(1) permits service on an individual defendant by “following state law for serving a summons in an action brought in courts of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located or where service is made.” Here, Plaintiff requests permission to serve Defendant under a California Code of Civil Procedure § 415.50(a)(1), which 3 …