Free AO 398-399 Package - Hawaii

NOTICE TO PARTIES
REGARDING SERVICE PURSUANT TO RULE 4 OF THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

WAIVER OF SERVICE OF SUMMONS
Rule 4(d) provides that a plaintiff may request that a defendant waive personal service of the complaint and summons, as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(2), by notifying the defendant that an action has been commenced and requesting that the defendant waive personal service of the summons and accept service of the complaint by mail. To request such a waiver, a plaintiff may send a notice of the commencement of an action, titled "Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons" (AO398 form), a "Waiver of the Service of Summons" (AO399 form), and a copy of the endorsed complaint to the defendant by first class or certified mail. The plaintiff must also provide a prepaid means for the defendant to return the waiver form.

EFFECT OF WAIVER OF SERVICE OF SUMMONS
When the defendant timely signs the waiver of service of summons and it is filed with the court, the action proceeds as if service of the summons and complaint had been personally made, rather than by mail. By agreeing to waive service of the summons, the defendant is allowed sixty [60] days to file an answer to the complaint, as calculated from the date the notice and request for waiver of service was sent, rather than the twenty [20] days allowed after personal service is effected. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(3) and Rule 12(a)(1)(B). The defendant does not waive any objection to venue or jurisdiction of the court over the person by agreeing to waive service of the summons. If a waiver is not timely returned, or a defendant refuses to waive service, plaintiff is required to serve the summons and complaint as specified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c) and 4(e). A defendant who fails to waive service of summons after a proper request has been made will be assessed the costs incurred to effect personal service on that defendant. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(2).
Copies of the "Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons" (AO398), and the "Waiver of the Service of Summons" (AO399), are available from the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and on the court's website: http://www.hid.uscourts.gov.

G:\docs\Gina\Forms\Waiver of Service Notice.wpd

AO 398 (03/08) Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
for the

District of Hawaii __________ District of __________
) ) ) ) )

Plaintiff v. Defendant

Civil Action No.

Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons To:
(Name of the defendant or - if the defendant is a corporation, partnership, or association - an officer or agent authorized to receive service)

Why are you getting this? A lawsuit has been filed against you, or the entity you represent, in this court under the number shown above. A copy of the complaint is attached. This is not a summons, or an official notice from the court. It is a request that, to avoid expenses, you waive formal service of a summons by signing and returning the enclosed waiver. To avoid these expenses, you must return the signed waiver within days (give at least 30 days or at least 60 days if the defendant is outside any judicial district of the United States) from the date shown below, which is the date this notice was sent. Two copies of the waiver form are enclosed, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope or other prepaid means for returning one copy. You may keep the other copy. What happens next? If you return the signed waiver, I will file it with the court. The action will then proceed as if you had been served on the date the waiver is filed, but no summons will be served on you and you will have 60 days from the date this notice is sent (see the date below) to answer the complaint (or 90 days if this notice is sent to you outside any judicial district of the United States). If you do not return the signed waiver within the time indicated, I will arrange to have the summons and complaint served on you. And I will ask the court to require you, or the entity you represent, to pay the expenses of making service. Please read the enclosed statement about the duty to avoid unnecessary expenses. I certify that this request is being sent to you on the date below. Date
Signature of the attorney or unrepresented party

Printed name

Address

E-mail address

Telephone number

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AO 399 (03/08) Waiver of the Service of Summons

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
for the

District of Hawaii __________ District of __________
) ) ) ) )

Plaintiff

v.
Defendant

Civil Action No.

Waiver of the Service of Summons To:
(Name of the plaintiff's attorney or unrepresented plaintiff)

I have received your request to waive service of a summons in this action along with a copy of the complaint, two copies of this waiver form, and a prepaid means of returning one signed copy of the form to you. I, or the entity I represent, agree to save the expense of serving a summons and complaint in this case. I understand that I, or the entity I represent, will keep all defenses or objections to the lawsuit, the court's jurisdiction, and the venue of the action, but that I waive any objections to the absence of a summons or of service. I also understand that I, or the entity I represent, must file and serve an answer or a motion under Rule 12 within 60 days from , the date when this request was sent (or 90 days if it was sent outside the United States). If I fail to do so, a default judgment will be entered against me or the entity I represent. Date
Signature of the attorney or unrepresented party

Printed name

Address

E-mail address

Telephone number Duty to Avoid Unnecessary Expenses of Serving a Summons Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires certain defendants to cooperate in saving unnecessary expenses of serving a summons and complaint. A defendant who is located in the United States and who fails to return a signed waiver of service requested by a plaintiff located in the United States will be required to pay the expenses of service, unless the defendant shows good cause for the failure. "Good cause" does not include a belief that the lawsuit is groundless, or that it has been brought in an improper venue, or that the court has no jurisdiction over this matter or over the defendant or the defendant's property. If the waiver is signed and returned, you can still make these and all other defenses and objections, but you cannot object to the absence of a summons or of service. If you waive service, then you must, within the time specified on the waiver form, serve an answer or a motion under Rule 12 on the plaintiff and file a copy with the court. By signing and returning the waiver form, you are allowed more time to respond than if a summons had been served.

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