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Rule 4.07 – Waiver of Service; Duty to Save Costs of Service; Request to Waive

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Tennessee

(1) A defendant who waives service of a summons does not thereby waive any objection to the venue or to the jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant.
(2) An individual, corporation, or association that is subject to service and that receives notice of an action in the manner provided in this paragraph has a duty to avoid unnecessary costs of serving the summons. To avoid costs, the plaintiff may notify such a defendant of the commencement of the action and request that the defendant waive service of a summons. The notice and request

(a) shall be in writing and shall be addressed directly to the defendant, if an individual, or else to an officer or managing or general agent (or other agent authorized by appointment of law to receive service of process) of a defendant subject to service;
(b) shall be dispatched through first-class mail or other reliable means;
(c) shall be accompanied by a copy of the complaint and shall identify the court in which it has been filed;
(d) shall inform the defendant of the consequences of compliance and of a failure to comply with the request;
(e) shall set forth the date on which the request is sent;
(f) shall allow the defendant a reasonable time to return the waiver, which shall be at least 30 days from the date on which the request is sent; and
(g) shall provide the defendant with an extra copy of the notice and request, as well as a prepaid means of compliance in writing.

If a defendant fails to comply with a request for waiver made by a plaintiff, the court shall impose the costs subsequently incurred in effecting service on the defendant unless good cause for the failure be shown.

(3) A defendant that, before being served with process, timely returns a waiver so requested is not required to serve an answer to the complaint until 60 days after the date on which the request for waiver of service was sent.
(4) When the plaintiff files a waiver of service with the court, the action shall proceed, except as provided in paragraph (3), as if a summons and complaint had been served at the time of filing the waiver, and no proof of service shall be required.
(5) The costs to be imposed on a defendant under paragraph (2) for failure to comply with a request to waive service of a summons shall include the costs subsequently incurred in effecting service together with the costs, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, of any motion required to collect the costs of service.

Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.07