National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent

Szukhent (defendant) signed a short form lease for farm equipment with National Equipment Rental, Ltd. (plaintiff) that designated Florence Weinberg, a National officer whom Szukhent had never met, as his agent to accept service of process under the lease. After Szukhent stopped making payments, National sued and served Weinberg as designated agent; Weinberg promptly notified Szukhent of the service, and National separately notified him as well, but Szukhent moved to quash service, arguing the agency arrangement was invalid; the district court granted the motion, the court of appeals affirmed, and National sought Supreme Court review.