Opinion
2:20-cv-00171-DBH
09-26-2021
U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., as TRUSTEE FOR LSF9 MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUST, Plaintiff v. LEE A. PLUMMER, Defendant
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION
John H. Rich III, United States Magistrate Judge
In December 2020, the plaintiff in this mortgage foreclosure action filed a motion seeking to serve the defendant by publication. See [Plaintiff's First] Motion for Alternate Service via Publication Upon Defendant, Lee A. Plummer (ECF No. 16). I denied that motion on the showing made, concluding that the plaintiff had not shown due diligence in attempting to locate the defendant and had failed to supply the requisite proposed order required by Maine law. See Memorandum Decision and Order on Motion for Service by Publication (“Previous Order”) (ECF No. 17) at 1, 6-7; Me. R. Civ. P. 4(g)(1) (providing that any motion for alternate service shall be supported by, among other things, “a draft, proposed order to provide the requested service by alternate means”); Me. R. Civ. P. 4(g)(2) (outlining the required contents of such a proposed order). In my previous order, I specifically instructed the plaintiff to provide a proposed order with any renewed motion for service by publication. See Previous Order at 7 (“Should [the plaintiff] desire to renew this motion, it should attach the above-referenced draft order . . . .” (emphasis added)).
My previous order provides a more detailed recitation of the law pertaining to service by publication in Maine. See Previous Order at 1-2.
The plaintiff again seeks leave to serve the defendant by publication. See [Plaintiff's Second] Motion for Alternate Service via Publication Upon Defendant, Lee A. Plummer (“Renewed Motion”) (ECF No. 26); Exhibits A-J (ECF Nos. 26-2 to 26-11), attached thereto. The plaintiff's renewed motion, however, is unaccompanied by the proposed order required by Maine law and dictated by my previous order. For this reason, the renewed motion is DENIED without prejudice. If the plaintiff wishes to renew its motion again, it should - consistent my previous order - provide the requisite proposed order as well as an updated affidavit of counsel recounting its search efforts. See Previous Order at 6-7.
Among the exhibits attached to the plaintiff's renewed motion is an order permitting service of the defendant by publication in a Cumberland County Probate Court case. See Exhibit J (ECF No. 26-11). The plaintiff, however, cites to the probate court order only in the context of outlining its search efforts for the defendant and does not suggest that the probate court order could serve a proposed order in this case. See Affidavit in Support of Motion for Alternate Service via Publication Upon Defendant, Lee A. Plummer (ECF No. 26-1) at 4-5; Statement of Material Facts (ECF No. 26-12) at 4-5. Nor could an order tailored to a wholly different case in a wholly different court serve as a proposed order in this case, especially where it does not appear to contain all the information required by Me. R. Civ. P. 4(g)(2). See Exhibit J.