{"id":5132,"date":"2017-08-14T22:13:42","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T22:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=5132"},"modified":"2017-08-15T05:11:33","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T05:11:33","slug":"rules-4a-b","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=5132","title":{"rendered":"Rules 4(a) and (b) – Clerk of Court must Sign & Seal the Summons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This page contains an unabridged, summarized version of these sections of Rule 4<\/a> of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure<\/a>, followed by a transcript of these sections of the rule.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Translation of<\/span> Rules (a) through (b)<\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

File a<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/a>\u00a0with The<\/span> Federal<\/a> Clerk of Court:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>On or after filing the<\/span> Complaint<\/a>, the<\/span> Plaintiff<\/a> may present a completed<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/em> form<\/a> to the<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Clerk<\/strong>\u00a0for each Defendant<\/em> to be served<\/strong><\/span>. \u00a0If the<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/a> are properly filled out, the Clerk must sign, seal, & then issue\u00a0a copy<\/em> of each signed & sealed<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(or just one Summons<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>if there is only\u00a0<\/strong>one\u00a0Defendant<\/a><\/strong>)<\/em> back to the<\/span>\u00a0Plaintiff<\/a>\u00a0for use in\u00a0serving\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0<\/span>Defendant(s)<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em>The court may permit a<\/span> Summons<\/a> to be amended, if needed<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Summons in a Civil Action<\/a>– Form\u00a0AO 440<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(click here for the same form on UScourts.gov)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Transcript of Rule 4(a) and (b):<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Note:<\/span> Sections of the rule which read<\/span>\u00a0(included in form)<\/em><\/span>\u00a0can be disregarded as those sections describe text already included in<\/span> the official Summons Form <\/em><\/a>AO440<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Sections of the rule which explain directions\u00a0<\/em>are enlarged & <\/span>colored purple.<\/span> \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(a) <\/b>Contents; Amendments<\/b><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0Contents<\/b><\/i><\/em>.<\/b> A summons must<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(A) name the court and the parties; (included in form)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(B) be directed to the defendant; (included in form)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(C) state the name and address of the plaintiff\u2019s attorney or\u2013 if unrepresented\u2013 of the plaintiff; (included in form)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(D) state the time within which the defendant must appear and defend;\u00a0(included in form)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(E) notify the defendant that a failure to appear and defend will result in a default judgment against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint;\u00a0(included in form)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(F) be signed by the clerk; and\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(G) bear the court\u2019s seal.<\/span> (see <\/i>\u201c(b) Issuance\u201d for directions)<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Amendments<\/i><\/em>. The court may permit a<\/span> Summons<\/a> to be amended.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(b) Issuance. On or after filing the<\/span> Complaint<\/a>, the<\/span> Plaintiff<\/a> may present a<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/a> to the clerk for signature & seal. \u00a0If the<\/span>\u00a0Summons<\/a> is properly completed, the clerk must sign, seal, & issue it to the<\/span>\u00a0Plaintiff<\/a> for service on the defendant. \u00a0A<\/span> Summons<\/a>\u2014 or<\/em> a copy of a summons that is addressed to multiple<\/span>\u00a0Defendants<\/a>\u2014 must be issued for each\u00a0<\/span>Defendant<\/a> to be served.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This page contains an unabridged, summarized version of these sections of Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, followed by a transcript of these sections of the rule. Translation of Rules (a) through (b): File a\u00a0Summons\u00a0with The Federal Clerk of Court:\u00a0On or after filing the Complaint, the Plaintiff may present a … Continue reading Rules 4(a) and (b) – Clerk of Court must Sign & Seal the Summons<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3954,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5132","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5132"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5186,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5132\/revisions\/5186"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}