Hunter v. Serv-Tech, Inc.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
2009 WL 2858089 (E.D. La. 2009)
After Hunter (plaintiff) sued Offshore (defendant) and served process, Offshore's first motion to dismiss challenged only defective service and included an "express reservation" of its right to later challenge personal jurisdiction, without actually raising that objection. That first motion was denied once Offshore conceded service was proper. Offshore later objected to personal jurisdiction in its answer and then filed a second motion to dismiss arguing insufficient contacts with the forum; Hunter argued Offshore had waived the objection by not including it in the original motion, while Offshore argued its earlier "reservation" preserved the issue and put everyone on notice.
Whether a defendant may raise an objection to personal jurisdiction in a later motion after failing to actually assert that objection, but merely purporting to "reserve" it, in its original pre-answer motion to dismiss.