I’m am a huge Memphis Grizzlies fan, but I haven’t had any reason to talk about them on this blog. Until now.
Last week, the Tennessee Court Appeals issued an opinion, Werner, et al. v. De’Anthony Melton , No. W2025-00779-COA-R3-CV, 2026 WL 2654566 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 9, 2026), involving a Grizzlies player and some interesting service of process issues.
On June 3, 2022, a neighbor sued De’Anthony Melton over an alleged dog bite that occurred on January 23, 2022. On June 24, 2022, Melton was traded to the 76ers (in a pretty dumb trade by the Grizzlies).
Not only did the trade frustrate me (Melton was a good player, on a great contract, and they got nothing for him), it made service of process especially difficult for the plaintiff.
First, they tried to serve him personally at his (former) Tennessee residence. Then, after the trade, an Alias Summons was issued, and they tried to serve him at the 76ers’ practice facility, but failed to serve him personally a number of times. On the third attempt in October 2022, the process server left the Summons with the team’s “Director of Executive Protection” “who purported to accept service on Mr. Melton’s behalf.” ….
Sensing that there could be an issue, plaintiff also attempted service on Melton by first class and certified mail to the practice facility and also to the arena, where the certified mail was signed for by an “employee of the team.”
After all that, the plaintiff got a Court order permitting service by publication in December 2022, with notices run for four weeks in Memphis, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.
To cover all the bases (or, well, to do a full court press), plaintiff then hired a private process server, who went to Melton’s New Jersey residence in March 2023 and served Melton’s adult uncle.
With all of this, after the answer deadline (for the complaint and also some written discovery) passed, plaintiff then filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in September 2023, which was granted on October 31, 2023.
After a wage garnishment hit 15 different paychecks over 7 months (capturing $250,000), Melton filed a motion to set aside the judgment on July 23, 2024.
Rather than consider the various service attempts via the 76ers, the Court noted Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.05(1), which governs service on defendants outside of the state of Tennessee, and also Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-2-214(a)(2). Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.05(1)(b) provides that, where out of state service is to be performed, it may be made “in any manner prescribed by the law of the state in which service is to be effected for an action in any of the courts of general jurisdiction in that state.”
As a result, the Court looked to New Jersey law, which provides for service:
Upon a competent individual of the age of 14 or over, by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint to the individual personally, or by leaving a copy thereof at the individual’s dwelling place or usual place of abode with a competent member of the household of the age of 14 or over then residing therein, or by delivering a copy thereof to a person authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process on the individual’s behalf;
N.J. Ct. R. 4:4-4(a)(1). The term “household” includes “all competent persons over fourteen years who make their home with the person to be served [and] was intended to eliminate questions as to the validity of service particularly where household units do not follow conventional family patterns.” Id. at * 5.
Because the trial court found that the individual who accepted service at Melton’s New Jersey address was Mr. Melton’s “uncle and roommate,” he was authorized to accept service on his behalf. The Judgment was upheld. Slam dunk, right?
Some quick notes on this opinion:
- Service of process can be really hard, especially on a celebrity. Remember how they got actress Olivia Wilde served? Sometimes, you have to be creative.
- Service of process can be the most frustrating and the most expensive part. The good news here is that the plaintiff knew where the defendant works and knew that there were assets available for garnishment, if successful. (Note: I’m confused as to where plaintiff served the wage garnishment. Did this require a domestication in Philadelphia?)
- Plaintiff was smart to be diligent on the front end. Plaintiff sued for $250,000 and received a judgment for $758,325.72, against a defendant with real assets. Plaintiff was smart to try so many different avenues for service, in the very predictable event of a challenge. Plaintiff laid the groundwork and gave the court ample basis to deem service to be valid.
- Service by Publication was probably sufficient. Even though the court found effective service in New Jersey, the publication was probably sufficient.
- Plaintiff’s judgment was granted via summary judgment and Rule 56, which is governed by a higher standard upon a challenge than a default. In a footnote, the Court discussed the “more liberal treatment” afforded to reviews of default judgments, but noted that this was a summary judgment. When in doubt, move for summary judgment under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.
- If you are are going challenge a judgment, act fast. The opinion noted the delay by Melton in moving to set aside the judgment under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02. Melton filed his motion about 9 months after the judgment was signed, but after 7 months (and $250k) of wage garnishments. Melton explained this by saying he’s busy as an NBA player during the season and “the large amounts of money garnished from his paychecks were not ‘noticeable sums for someone of [his] net worth and income’.” Id. at *7. I won’t recite the full reasoning, but the Court did not appreciate this argument. Notably, just because Rule 60.02 sets one year as the outer limit, it doesn’t mean that you have a year.
- Don’t lie in affidavits, including small lies. In the discussion, the Court notes a number of times where there are small discrepancies, misstatements, and outright lies in the underlying affidavits supporting Melton’s efforts. Even though those items were corrected, it’s obvious that the inconsistencies concerned the Court and influenced the outcome.
The last Grizzlies game I went to was the April 6, 2024 game against the 76ers, which celebrated the retirement of Marc Gasol. Whenever I think about those Core Four Grizzlies and all those fun playoff games in 2011 and 2013, I think about my kids who were born in May of 2011 and 2013, and how much fun I had watching those games in the lazy-boy chair, holding my newborns. Go Grizzlies.
Creditors Rights 101 