2. Is the court likely to dismiss the action for improper service of process?

To determine whether a federal court has personal jurisdiction over the defendant, three requirements must be met: (i) service must take place in the appropriate territory, (ii) the service must be carried out in the correct manner, and (iii) the defendant must be «amenable» to the suit.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 4(k) states that service of process may be made only within the territorial limits of the state in which the district court sits or anywhere else that the long-arm of the state where the district court sits permits. FRCP 4(k)(1)(B) also provides a special 100-mile bulge provision that allows for out-of-state service even if the local law does not permit this. When the provision applies, it allows service anywhere, even across a state boundary, within a 100-mile radius of the federal courthouse where the suit is pending. The bulge provision applies only where out-of-staters will be brought in as additional parties to an already-pending action.

FRCP 4(e) outlines the manner for serving an individual defendant. Service may be made (i) by personally serving the party, (ii) by leaving the summons and complaint at the defendant's residence with a person of suitable age and discretion, (iii) by serving an agent appointed or designated by law to receive process, or (iv) by serving the party in the manner provided by either the law of the state where the district court sits or in the manner provided by the law of the state where the person is being served.

C is correct. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e)(2) provides that an individual defendant may be served by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process on behalf of the defendant. No facts suggest that the administrative assistant was a designated agent of the stockbroker, and the Rules provide no general authority to serve process on third parties at a defendant's place of employment. A designated agent may be an officer, a managing or general agent, or someone specifically labeled an authorized agent. In this fact pattern, none of these apply to the administrative assistant.

A is incorrect. FRCP 4(e)(2) governs service on individual defendants and authorizes service on a person of «suitable age and discretion» only when service is made at the defendant's «dwelling or usual place of abode,» not at the defendant's workplace.

B is incorrect. FRCP 12(b) provides that every defense to a claim for relief, including insufficient service of process, must be asserted either in the responsive pleading (answer) or by motion. Therefore, the stockbroker did not waive her claim for improper service by asserting it in her answer.

D is incorrect. FRCP 4(k)(1)(A) makes clear that the process of the federal courts may exceed state boundaries. Therefore, the process of the federal courts in State A can be effective in State B so long as the stockbroker is subject to jurisdiction in State A.