Vazquez-Robles v. CommoLoCo, Inc., 757 F.3d 1

Vázquez-Robles filed suit July 26, 2012 in the District of Puerto Rico against CommoLoCo, Inc. alleging ADA, Title VII, and local discrimination claims.
Plaintiff attempted service August 1, 2012 on Prentice-Hall Corporation System Puerto Rico, Inc. as defendant’s registered agent; defendant later contested Prentice’s status.
No answer was filed; default entered September 5, 2012.
A jury liquidated the defaulted claims, awarding $935,000 in damages.
In March 2013, a writ of execution seized the full judgment from defendant’s bank; defendant moved to vacate the judgment as void for lack of prior notice, which the district court denied.
On appeal, the district court’s personal jurisdiction ruling focused on whether service of process was valid given a change in registered agent to CT Corporation System on April 25, 2011.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether service on Prentice was valid to establish personal jurisdiction	Vázquez-Robles argues Prentice was defendant’s registered agent at service time	CommoLoCo argues Prentice was not its registered agent then	Service on Prentice invalid; jurisdiction not obtained
Whether the notice issue was preserved on appeal	Vázquez-Robles contends appeal preserved jurisdiction challenge	CommoLoCo had raised jurisdictional defense earlier	Yes, notice preserved the jurisdictional challenge
Whether Rule 60(b)(4) de novo standard applies given void judgment	Vacating void judgment warrants de novo review	Standard not indicated; argue for abuse of discretion	De novo review applied to void-judgment claim
Whether apparent agency or public-record inaccuracies can revive service	González Declaration and website listing could render service effective	No apparent agency; public records changes control; website error does not create duty	No basis to rely on apparent agency or website error; service invalid

Mullane v. Cent. Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (U.S. 1950) (due process notice requirement for significant relief)
Precision Etchings & Findings, Inc. v. LGP Gem, Ltd., 953 F.2d 21 (1st Cir. 1992) (judgment void for lack of proper service)
World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 (U.S. 1980) (voidity of judgment rendered without jurisdiction)
Omni Capital Int'l, Ltd. v. Rudolf Wolff & Co., 484 U.S. 97 (U.S. 1987) (service rules should be legislative, not judicially created)
Esso Standard Oil Co. (P.R.) v. Rodríguez-Pérez, 455 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2006) (de novo review for void judgments under Rule 60(b)(4))
Trust Co. of La. v. N.N.P. Inc., 104 F.3d 1478 (5th Cir. 1997) (waiver and preservation of challenges to service)
United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364 (U.S. 1948) (definitive standard for reviewing related issues)
Senior Loiza Corp. v. Vento Dev. Corp., 760 F.2d 20 (1st Cir. 1985) (service by publication context under Puerto Rico law)
Hosp. Mortg. Grp., Inc. v. Parque Indus. Rio Canas, Inc., 653 F.2d 54 (1st Cir. 1981) (context of locating defendants for service by publication)