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Rhode Island Rules of Civil Procedure
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may change from time to time, please
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Rules of Civil Procedure in Rhode
Island:
Rule
4. Process, attachment, trustee
process, arrest.
Summons: Form.
The summons shall bear the
signature or facsimile signature of
the clerk, be under the seal of the
court, identify the court and the
parties, be directed to the
defendant, state the name and
address of the plaintiff's attorney
or, if unrepresented, of the
plaintiff. It shall also state the
time within which the defendant must
appear and defend, and notify the
defendant that failure to do so will
result in a judgment by default
against the defendant for the relief
demanded in the complaint. The court
may allow a summons to be amended.
Same: Issuance.
The summons may be procured in
blank from the clerk and shall be
filled out by the plaintiff's
attorney as provided in subdivision
(a) of this rule. The plaintiff's
attorney shall deliver to the person
who is to make service the original
summons upon which to make the
return of service and a copy of the
summons and of the complaint for
service upon each defendant.
Additional summons may be issued
against any defendant.
By Whom Served.
Service of all process shall be
made by a sheriff or the sheriff's
deputy, within the sheriff's county,
by a duly authorized constable, or
by any person who is not a party and
who is at least 18 years of age.
Waiver of Service; Duty to
Save Costs of Service; Request to
Waive.
- 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.
- An individual or corporation
that is subject to service under
subdivision (e)(1), (e)(3), or
(f), 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
- 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 or law to
receive service of process)
of a defendant subject to
service under the laws of
this state;
- Shall be dispatched
through first-class mail or
other reliable means;
- Shall be accompanied by
a copy of the complaint and
shall identify the court in
which it has been filed;
- Shall inform the
defendant, by means of a
text prescribed in an
official form promulgated
pursuant to Rule 84, of the
consequences of compliance
and of a failure to comply
with the request;
- Shall set forth the date
on which the request is
sent;
- 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, or 60 days
from that date if the
defendant is addressed
outside the United States;
and
- 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 located within
the United States fails to
comply with a request for
waiver made by a plaintiff
located within the United
States, the court shall
impose the costs
subsequently incurred in
effecting service on the
defendant unless good cause
for the failure be shown.
- 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, or 90 days
after that date if the defendant
was addressed outside the United
States.
- 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.
- 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 under
subdivision (e), (f), or (h),
together with the costs,
including a reasonable
attorney's fee, of any motion
required to collect the costs of
service.
Summons: Personal Service.
The summons and complaint shall
be served together. The plaintiff
shall furnish the person making
service with such copies as are
necessary. Service shall be made as
follows:
- Upon an individual from whom
a waiver has not been obtained
and filed other than an
incompetent person, by
delivering a copy of the summons
and complaint to the individual
personally or by leaving copies
thereof at the individual's
dwelling house or usual place of
abode with some person of
suitable age and discretion then
residing therein or by
delivering a copy of the summons
and complaint to an agent
authorized by appointment or by
law to receive service of
process, provided that if the
agent is one designated by
statute to receive service, such
further notice as the statute
requires shall be given.
- Upon a person for whom a
guardian or conservator has been
appointed by serving copies of
the summons and complaint upon
such guardian or conservator and
upon the incompetent person in
the manner provided in paragraph
(1) of this subdivision.
- Upon a private corporation,
domestic or foreign, from which
a waiver of service has not been
obtained and filed, by
delivering a copy of the summons
and complaint to an officer, a
managing or general agent, or by
leaving a copy of the summons
and complaint at an office of
the corporation with a person
employed therein, or by
delivering a copy of the summons
and complaint to an agent
authorized by appointment or by
law to receive service of
process, provided that if the
agent is one designated by
statute to receive service, such
further notice as the statute
requires shall be given.
- Upon the state by delivering
a copy of the summons and
complaint to the attorney
general or an assistant attorney
general.
- Upon a public corporation,
body, or authority by delivering
a copy of the summons and
complaint to any officer,
director, or manager thereof.
Service Outside State Within
the United States; Personal
Jurisdiction.
When an individual or a foreign
corporation is subject to the
jurisdiction of the courts of the
state, service of process may be
made outside the state as follows:
- Upon an individual by
delivery of a copy of the
summons and complaint to the
individual personally by any
disinterested person, or by
mailing a copy of the summons
and complaint to the individual
by registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested, or by
any other method ordered by the
court to give such individual
notice of the action and
sufficient time to prepare any
defense thereto.
- Upon a foreign corporation
by delivery of a copy of the
summons and complaint by any
disinterested person to the
president, secretary, or
treasurer of such corporation or
to any agent or attorney for
service of process designated by
the corporation in the state of
incorporation, or by mailing a
copy of the summons and
complaint to any such officer or
agent or to the corporation at
its business address designated
in the state of incorporation by
registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested, or by
any other method ordered by the
court to give such corporation
notice of the action and
sufficient time to prepare any
defense thereto.
Service Upon Individuals in a
Foreign Country.
Unless otherwise provided by
state or federal law, service upon
an individual from whom a waiver has
not been obtained and filed, other
than an infant or an incompetent
person, may be effected in a place
not within the United States:
- By any internationally
agreed means reasonably
calculated to give notice, such
as those means authorized by the
Hague Convention on the Service
Abroad of Judicial and Extra
judicial Documents; or
- If there is no
internationally agreed means of
service or the applicable
international agreement allows
other means of service, provided
that service is reasonably
calculated to give notice:
- In the manner prescribed
by the law of the foreign
country for service in that
country in an action in any
of its courts of general
jurisdiction; or
- As directed by the
foreign authority in
response to a letter
rogatory or letter of
request; or
- Unless prohibited by the
law of the foreign country,
by
- Delivery to the
individual personally of
a copy of the summons
and the complaint; or
- Any form of mail
requiring a signed
receipt, to be addressed
and dispatched by the
clerk of the court to
the party to be served;
or
- By other means not
prohibited by international
agreement as may be directed by
the court.
Service Outside the State in
Certain Actions.
Where service cannot with due
diligence be made personally within
the state, service of the summons
and complaint may be made outside
the state in the manner provided by
subdivisions (f) and (g) of this
rule in the following cases:
- Where an interest of a
person in property or credits
within the state has been
brought before the court by
attachment or trustee process,
or
- Where a pleading demands a
judgment that a person be
excluded from a vested or
contingent interest in or lien
upon specific real or personal
property within the state; or
that such an interest or lien of
any party be enforced,
regulated, defined, determined,
or limited.
Service by Publication.
Whenever in an action described
in subdivision (h) of this rule
complete service cannot with due
diligence be made by another
prescribed method, the court shall
order service by publication of a
notice of the action in one or more
newspapers in such form and for such
length of time as the court shall
direct. If a statute expressly
provides for service of process by
publication, publication shall be in
the form and manner provided by such
statute.
Proof of Service.
If service is not waived, the
person effecting service shall make
proof thereof on the original
process or a paper attached thereto
for that purpose, and shall
forthwith return it to the
plaintiff's attorney. If service is
made by a person other than a
sheriff or the sheriff's deputy,
that person shall make affidavit
thereof. Any return receipt received
in connection therewith shall be
annexed to such process when
returned. The plaintiff's attorney
shall, within the time during which
the person served must respond to
the process, file the proof of
service with the court. Failure to
make proof of service does not
affect the validity of the service.
Amendment.
At any time in its discretion and
upon such terms as it deems just,
the court may allow any process or
proof of service thereof to be
amended, unless it clearly appears
that material prejudice would result
to the substantial rights of the
party against whom the process
issued.
Summons: Time Limit for
Service.
If a service of the summons and
complaint is not made upon a
defendant within 120 days after the
commencement of the action and the
party on whose behalf such service
was required cannot show good cause
why such service was not made within
that period, the action shall be
dismissed as to that defendant
without prejudice upon the court's
own initiative with notice to such
party or upon motion.
Attachment and Trustee
Process.
- Availability of Remedies. In
connection with the commencement
of any action under these rules,
attachment, including trustee
process, shall be available to
the extent and in the manner
provided by law.
- Writ of Attachment: Form.
The writ of attachment shall
bear the signature or facsimile
signature of the clerk, be under
the seal of the court, contain
the name of the court, the names
and residences of the parties
and the trustee, if any, and the
date of the commencement of the
action, be directed to the
sheriffs of the several counties
or their deputies, or to other
officers authorized by law to
serve the same, and command them
to attach the goods or estate of
the defendant to the value of
the amount of the plaintiff's
demand for judgment, together
with a reasonable allowance for
interest and costs, and to make
due return of their doings
thereon.
- Same: Issuance. The writ of
attachment may be procured in
blank from the clerk, shall be
filled out by the plaintiff's
attorney as provided in
paragraph (2) of this
subdivision, and shall be
submitted to the court with a
motion for its issuance. The
motion shall be granted only
upon a showing that there is a
probability of a judgment being
rendered in favor of the
plaintiff and that there is a
need for furnishing the
plaintiff security in the amount
sought for satisfaction of such
judgment, together with interest
and costs. A motion hereunder
shall not be granted ex parte.
Security may be required in
connection with issuance of any
writ of attachment. A surety
upon a bond or undertaking
hereunder shall be subject to
the provisions of Rule 65(c).
- Same: Service. The
plaintiff's attorney shall
deliver to the officer making
service a copy of the proposed
writ of attachment together with
a copy of the motion for its
issuance and the notice of
hearing thereof. When the
summons and complaint are served
upon the defendant as provided
in subdivisions (d) through (i)
of this rule, the defendant
shall also be served with a copy
of the proposed writ of
attachment and of the motion for
its issuance with the notice of
hearing thereof. An attachment
made after service of the
summons and complaint shall be
made as provided in paragraph
(6) of this subdivision.
- Attachment on Counterclaim,
Cross-Claim, or Third-Party
Complaint. Attachment may be
utilized by a party bringing a
counterclaim, a cross-claim, or
a third-party complaint in the
same manner as upon an original
claim.
- Subsequent Attachment. After
service of the summons and
complaint upon the defendant,
attachment shall be available to
the extent and in the manner
provided by law, shall follow
the form prescribed in paragraph
(2) of this subdivision, and
shall be issued in accordance
with paragraph (3) of this
subdivision. All papers shall be
served upon the defendant in the
manner provided for service of
process under subdivisions (d)
through (i) of this rule unless
the defendant has appeared in
the action, in which case
service shall be made as
provided in Rule 5(b).
- Return of Service. Upon
service of a writ of attachment
and copy thereof, the person
making the service shall make
the return as provided in
subdivision (j) of this rule.
Arrest.
- Availability of Remedy. In
connection with the commencement
of any action under these rules,
a writ of arrest shall be
available to the extent and in
the manner provided by law.
- Form and Service. The writ
of arrest shall be obtained and
filled out in the same manner as
a writ of attachment, shall be
accompanied by such affidavit as
may be required by law, and
shall be submitted to the court
with a motion for its issuance.
An order of issuance shall be
indorsed on the writ by the
court. Service of such writ
shall be accompanied by service
upon the defendant of a copy of
the summons and complaint, and
return of service shall be made
in the same manner as return of
service on a writ of attachment.
- Subsequent Writ of Arrest.
After service of the summons and
complaint upon the defendant a
writ of arrest shall be
available to the extent and in
the manner provided by law and
shall be issued and served as
provided in paragraph (2) of
this subdivision.
- Ne Exeat. An order of arrest
may be entered when the
plaintiff has demanded and would
be entitled to a judgment
requiring the performance of an
act, the neglect or refusal to
perform which would be
punishable by the court as a
contempt, and where the
defendant is not a resident of
the state or is about to depart
therefrom, by reason of which
nonresidence or departure there
is danger that such judgment or
order will be rendered
ineffectual.
(As amended September 5, 1995.)
Case Note:
Service of process upon a
foreign corporation incorporated in
a nation which is a party to the
Hague Convention must be made in
accordance with the terms of that
convention. Cipolla v. Picard
Porsche Audi, Inc., 946 A.2d 130
(R.I. 1985).
§
45-16-14 Unauthorized services of
process.
Any individual who serves, or
attempts to serve, any writ or legal
process for any court of this state;
other than sheriffs, deputy
sheriffs, and those individuals so
authorized for such service pursuant
to this chapter, or other
individuals authorized by law or by
rule of court shall be fined not
less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), and/or imprisoned
for a term of not less than six (6)
months, nor more than one year in
prison, for each violation.
Provided, however, this section
shall not apply to any city or town
constable nor to any power or
authority granted to them by any
general or special law.
Rule
45. Subpoena.
Form; Issuance.
Every subpoena shall be issued by
the clerk of court or a notary
public or other officer authorized
by statute, shall state the name of
the court and the title of the
action, and shall command each
person to whom it is directed to
attend and give testimony or to
produce and permit inspection and
copying of designated documents or
tangible things in the possession,
custody or control of that person or
to permit inspection of premises at
a time and place therein specified.
The subpoena shall set forth the
text of subdivisions (c) and (d) of
this rule. A command to produce
evidence or to permit inspection may
be joined with a command to appear
at trial or hearing or at
deposition, or may be issued
separately.
Service.
A subpoena may be served by the
sheriff, by the sheriff's deputy, by
a constable, or by any other person
who is not a party and is not less
than 18 years of age. Service of a
subpoena upon a person named therein
shall be made by delivering a copy
thereof to such person and, if the
person's attendance is commanded, by
tendering to that person the fees
for one day's attendance and the
mileage allowed by law. When the
subpoena is issued on behalf of the
state or an officer or agency
thereof, fees and mileage need not
be tendered. Prior notice of any
commanded production of documents
and things or inspection of premises
before trial shall be served on each
party in the manner prescribed by
Rule 5(b). A subpoena may be served
at any place within the state.
Protection of Persons Subject
to Subpoenas.
- A party or an attorney
responsible for the issuance and
service of a subpoena shall take
reasonable steps to avoid
imposing undue burden or expense
on a person subject to that
subpoena. The court on behalf of
which the subpoena was issued
shall enforce this duty and
impose upon the party or
attorney in breach of this duty
an appropriate sanction, which
may include, but is not limited
to, lost earnings and a
reasonable attorney's fee.
- (A) A person commanded to
produce and permit inspection
and copying of designated books,
papers, documents or tangible
things or inspection of premises
need not appear in person at the
place of production or
inspection unless commanded to
appear for deposition, hearing
or trial.
(B) Subject to paragraph (d)(2)
of this rule, a person commanded
to produce and permit inspection
and copying may, within 14 days
after service of the subpoena or
before the time specified for
compliance if such time is less
than 14 days after service,
serve upon the party or attorney
designated in the subpoena
written objection to inspection
or copying of any or all of the
designated materials or of the
premises. If objection is made,
the party serving the subpoena
shall not be entitled to inspect
and copy the materials or
inspect the premises except
pursuant to an order of the
court by which the subpoena was
issued. If objection has been
made, the party serving the
subpoena may, upon notice to the
person commanded to produce,
move at any time for an order to
compel the production. Such an
order to compel production shall
protect any person who is not a
party or an officer of a party
from significant expense
resulting from the inspection
and copying commanded.
- On timely motion, the court
by which a subpoena was issued
shall quash or modify the
subpoena if it
- Fails to allow
reasonable time for
compliance;
- Requires disclosure of
privileged or other
protected matter and no
exception or waiver applies,
or
- Subjects a person to
undue burden.
- If a subpoena
- Requires disclosure of a
trade secret or other
confidential research,
development, or commercial
information, or
- Requires disclosure of
an unretained expert's
opinion or information not
describing specific events
or occurrences in dispute
and resulting from the
expert's study made not at
the request of any party,
the court may, to protect a
person subject to or
affected by the subpoena,
quash or modify the subpoena
or, if the party in whose
behalf the subpoena is
issued shows a substantial
need for the testimony or
material that cannot be
otherwise met without undue
hardship and assures that
the person to whom the
subpoena is addressed will
be reasonably compensated,
the court may order
appearance or production
only upon specified
conditions.
Duties in Responding to
Subpoena.
- A person responding to a
subpoena to produce documents
shall produce them as they are
kept in the usual course of
business or shall organize and
label them to correspond with
the categories in the demand.
- When information subject to
a subpoena is withheld on a
claim that it is privileged or
subject to protection as trial
preparation materials, the claim
shall be made expressly and
shall be supported by a
description of the nature of the
documents, communications, or
things not produced that is
sufficient to enable the
demanding party to contest the
claim.
Contempt.
Failure by any person without
adequate excuse to obey a subpoena
served upon that person may be
deemed a contempt of the court in
which the action is pending.
(As amended September 5, 1995.)
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