Stone Land & Livestock Co. v. HBE, 309 Neb. 970

Stone Land & Livestock Co. sued HBE, LLP and Michael Arens on March 1, 2019, alleging incorrect tax advice related to a land sale.
On April 8, 2019, HBE’s attorneys filed an "Appearance of Counsel" stating they were counsel of record for HBE and Arens.
No service of process on HBE was completed within the six-month statutory deadline, and the case was inactive for nearly a year.
On April 6, 2020, the district court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-217 for failure to timely serve the defendants.
Stone Land moved to reinstate, arguing the Appearance of Counsel constituted a "voluntary appearance" equivalent to service under § 25-516.01(1); the district court denied the motion and Stone Land appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether an attorney-filed "Appearance of Counsel" is a "voluntary appearance" equivalent to service under § 25-516.01(1)	The Appearance of Counsel waived service (was equivalent to service) because it entered an appearance and ensured counsel would receive notice of filings	The filing only identified counsel and did not manifest an intent by the client to waive formal service or request substantive relief	The Appearance of Counsel did not constitute a voluntary appearance; it merely acknowledged counsel and did not demonstrate waiver of service; dismissal for failure to serve was affirmed

Carlson v. Allianz Versicherungs-AG, 287 Neb. 628 (2014) (voluntary appearance equates to service when party requests general relief)
Vopalka v. Abraham, 260 Neb. 737 (2000) (action dismissed when service not perfected within statutory deadline)
J.S. v. Grand Island Pub. Schs., 297 Neb. 347 (2017) (filing that expressly waives service can constitute voluntary appearance)
VRT, Inc. v. Dutton-Lainson Co., 247 Neb. 845 (1995) (attorney acts bind client under agency principles)
In re Estate of Brinkman, 308 Neb. 117 (2021) (jurisdictional questions of law reviewed independently on appeal)